Ocean Winds (OW) has launched a report on the work it is doing to grow skills in Scotland, detailing the range of driven skills initiatives designed to stimulate interest in the offshore wind sector.
The report demonstrates the strong alignment with UK and Scottish government objectives to ensure opportunities for domestic job creation and growth are not lost through skills gaps, OW said.
The developer has been working on sector promotion for nearly 15 years, initially via its sponsors ENGIE and EDPR, from early local schools’ engagement and guest lectureships through to today’s strategic partnerships with respected education and training organisations.
The report brings together a comprehensive view of the efforts across schools, colleges and universities as well as through the OW workplace.
It also highlights a specific example of the effort of OW to address skills gap in fabrication and welding which are critical to the growth and success of a sustainable offshore wind supply chain in Scotland.
Such examples indicate how OW is going beyond skills programmes that are solely aimed at growing the pipeline for direct recruitment into the business, the company said.
OW is working to realise the potential of the sector from all parts of the population, with skills programmes being delivered across Scotland as well as the heartland of OWs’ operations bases in the north-east of Scotland.
The programmes referenced in the report demonstrates the breadth of engagement from school students to military veterans, and skilled workers looking to transition their careers, it added.
Adam Morrison, Ocean Winds UK country manager, said: “It is crucial that the talent pipeline for the offshore wind supply chain is prioritised as Scotland looks to accelerate its offshore wind footprint and output.
“Ocean Winds is proud to be providing funds and time to a broad range of skills programmes that support sector attractiveness.
“The offshore wind sector needs to enthuse learners of all ages about STEM subjects and the varied pathways into long term exciting careers.
“We in Ocean Winds are collaborating with great partners to ensure we are doing as much as possible to ensure we have the right people ready for the diverse roles needed by the sector.
“We are passionate about investing in the people required to help support Scotland’s long-term offshore wind sector, with this report demonstrating that we are driving skills readiness, whilst delivering clean power from our operational projects in northern Scotland.”