A new initiative in the UK is aiming to improve the competitiveness of the country’s offshore wind supply chain.
The Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) and the Sharing in Growth programme are working together to develop a new £1.5m Sharing in Growth – Offshore Wind programme.
The programme is part of the Offshore Wind Industry Council-funded OWGP programme and will support the sector in meeting the targets laid out in the UK Sector Deal to increase local content in new projects and achieve a fivefold increase in exports to £2.6bn a year by 2030.
Sharing in Growth is a business transformation initiative established in 2012 to transform the productivity of the UK aerospace sector in the face of increasing global competition.
Combining experience from aerospace and the offshore wind sectors, a pilot programme for offshore wind will launch in January working with between five and 10 companies.
Following a review of participants business needs, an agreed programme of support will be delivered, tailored to the needs of the companies with the specific aim of increasing their competitiveness and productivity within the offshore wind sector.
The programme will last for between one and three years depending on the needs of the company and can involve dedicated advisors, operations and manufacturing experts.
OWGP programme director Andrew Macdonald said: “The OWGP was established as part of the Offshore Wind Sector Deal to promote closer collaboration across the supply chain, implement structured productivity improvement programmes and facilitate shared growth opportunities between developers and their supply chain.
“This partnership with the Sharing in Growth Programme provides the ideal framework within which we can work with a cohort of companies to increase their competitiveness, supporting continued cost reduction in offshore wind whilst simultaneously securing long-term economic benefits.”
OWGP chair Martin Whitmarsh said: “As offshore wind grows and matures as a UK industrial success story, we want to ensure that we maximise the learning from other successful sectors and the business improvement programmes that they run, applying that knowledge to our offshore wind sector.
“The Sharing in Growth programme has been an undoubted success in transforming the UK’s aerospace sector and we’re confident that applying the same principles to offshore wind will produce similar industry successes.”
Sharing in Growth chief executive Andy Page said: “Offshore wind provides a great opportunity for UK energy supply and also for UK high value manufacturing.
“Sharing in Growth was set up as an innovative and pervasive programme specifically designed and delivered to address the needs of ambitious manufacturing companies.
“I am delighted that we can use our experience, from sectors such as aerospace, to apply to other areas of strategic importance and to support more companies in beating the productivity challenge.”
The OWGP was launched in June and is a part of the Offshore Wind Sector Deal between industry and government.
It has a budget of £100m over a 10-year period and will promote closer collaboration across the supply chain and facilitate shared growth opportunities between developers and the supply chain.