Energy Skills Passport Will be Launched in January

A joint release by Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) and RenewableUK announced that a new scheme to help workers across the UK’s energy mix find new roles in offshore wind will be launched in January by the organizations, supported by the UK and Scottish governments.

The Energy Skills Passport enables workers and employers to easily identify which qualifications and training standards, such as health and safety, are needed for specific roles in offshore wind, the release stated, adding that the new passport will be managed jointly by OEUK and RenewableUK.

The release revealed that the Energy Skills Passport “will be available to a limited number of testers later this year before it is rolled out in full in the new year”. The initial version focuses on the transition to offshore wind and future versions will include other parts of the energy sector, the release noted.

OEUK and RenewableUK’s joint release pointed out that the UK’s oil and gas sector supports over 200,000 jobs and that the UK’s offshore wind industry employs 32,000 people. The latter figure is expected to rise to over 100,000 by 2030, according to the release, which said research commissioned by OEUK shows that 90 percent per cent of oil and gas industry workers have skills which can be transferred to future offshore jobs in renewable energy.

“Collaboration is key to unlocking the full potential of the UK’s offshore energy sector so we are proud to be driving this initiative with RenewableUK,” OEUK Director of Supply Chain & People Katy Heidenreich said in the release.

“This industry and its people have proven excellence and a broad range of transferable skills from engineering and construction to legal and commercial expertise. This passport can help them succeed right across our diverse energy mix,” Heidenrich added.

“This is one way the UK can back its workforce to build a homegrown energy transition that leaves no-one behind. It’s part of the toolkit this industry is assembling to partner with government to solve the challenges and seize the opportunities of our energy future,” the OEUK representative continued.

RenewableUK’s Executive Director of Offshore Wind Jane Cooper said in the release, “the upsurge in offshore wind jobs over the course of this decade and beyond creates excellent opportunities for highly skilled oil and gas workers to bring their valuable experience to the clean energy sector”.

“We’re working closely with our colleagues at Offshore Energies UK, and the UK and Scottish governments, to make that transition as smooth as possible across all parts of the energy industry,” Cooper added.

“The Energy Skills Passport is a great example of what we can achieve together and we’ll continue to look for other potential areas of work that can further support the transition of workers between sectors,” Cooper went on to note.

Richard Sandford, the Co-Chair of the Offshore Wind Industry Council, said in the release, “the Energy Skills Passport is a crucial step forward for workers to embrace opportunities in the offshore wind industry”.

“It simplifies movement between essential offshore energy sectors, enabling workers to apply their knowledge to the energy transition. The milestone highlights effective collaboration between OEUK and RenewableUK, supported by the UK and Scottish governments,” Sandford added.

In a release posted on the UK government’s website, the government confirmed the “speeding up of delivery of a ‘skills passport’ to support oil and gas workers to move into offshore wind”.

The government described the passport in the release as an industry led initiative overseen by RenewableUK and OEUK, and supported by the UK and Scottish governments, which will align standards, recognize transferable skills and qualifications, and map out career pathways for suitable roles.

The release noted that the UK Government’s Office for Clean Energy Jobs is working closely with Skills England to support other British workers on the energy transition, “which by 2030 could create hundreds of thousands of new jobs across the UK”.  

Billions in Funding

The UK government release highlighted that UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband pledged that the UK government “will take decisive action to help make available billions of pounds in funding across the UK including for Scotland’s clean energy industry”.  

In the release, the government pointed out a new agreement with the Scottish government “to boost Great British Energy’s ambitions to support clean energy supply chains and infrastructure”.  

“By developing partnerships with Scottish public bodies in the clean energy sector - including Crown Estate Scotland, the Enterprise Agencies, and the Scottish National Investment Bank - Great British Energy can deliver quickly and effectively, avoid duplication, and deliver maximum impact and value for money from Scottish projects,” the release stated.

“Scotland has a strong pipeline of opportunities and is at the forefront of floating offshore wind development, and Great British Energy is in prime position to help accelerate this work by harnessing expertise in project development, investment and work with local communities,” it added.

The UK government release noted that Great British Energy has GBP 8.3 billion ($10.7 billion) of funding over this parliament and said work is underway with the energy industry in Scotland to use this for public investment to create new private sector jobs and drive projects in Scotland.  

It also stated that, in Wales, the UK government is already discussing how Great British Energy could work in partnership with their publicly owned renewable energy developer, Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru, and other public bodies to deliver on shared priorities with the Welsh government. The release also noted that the UK government is working closely with the Northern Ireland Executive on opportunities for Northern Ireland to help accelerate the clean energy transition across the UK. 

“Scottish energy workers will power the United Kingdom’s clean energy future - including in carbon capture and storage, in hydrogen, in wind, and with oil and gas for decades to come as part of a fair transition in the North Sea,” Miliband said in the release.

“We’re also working closely with the Scottish government with a new agreement to ensure our publicly owned company Great British Energy is primed to accelerate clean energy investment in Scotland,” he added.

Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy Gillian Martin said in the release, “I welcome this collaborative agreement committing Great British Energy to work with our public bodies to maximize investment into Scotland”. 

“Scotland already has a strong pipeline of clean energy and supply chain opportunities, is at the forefront of floating offshore wind development, and has a depth of knowledge and experience on community and local energy,” Martin added.

“We look forward to working with Great British Energy to ensure it delivers real benefits for the people of Scotland and a just energy transition,” Martin continued.

“To make sure that no offshore energy workers are left behind, the Scottish Government provided initial funding of GBP 3.7 million ($4.7 million) between 2022 - 2024 for the development of the industry-led Skills Passport,” Martin went on to state.

Great British Energy Chair Juergen Maier said in the release, “the clean energy transition is a huge opportunity for Scotland, which is already at the cutting edge of technology like floating offshore wind, and Great British Energy is well positioned to help accelerate the development of key supply chains and infrastructure”. 

“By working closely with the Scottish Government, alongside The Crown Estate in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, we can help to drive forward investment and create jobs across the country,” he added.

Also in the release, OEUK CEO David Whitehouse said, “this package of announcements contains significant measures for firms, their workers and their supply chains across the UK”.

“The skills passport is an important part of the toolkit industry is assembling in recognition of the integrated nature of the energy landscape. Those working in our domestic oil and gas sector have powered the country for the last fifty years and will play a critical role in our energy future,” he added.

“The sector is committed to working in partnership with government to leverage our industrial strengths to deliver a managed transition that creates opportunities for people and communities around the country,” he continued.

Energy Industry Leaders Align

A joint OEUK-RenewableUK release published back in May announced that “energy industry leaders” had “aligned on a roadmap for a prototype energy skills passport to enable cross-sector recognition of energy industry expertise and training”.

Delivery on the commitment to a skills passport was set out in both the North Sea Transition Deal and Offshore Wind Sector Deal struck between industry and the UK government, that release stated, adding that the passport is intended to show both workers and employers how skills and qualifications can be recognized by employers across sectors such as oil and gas and offshore wind.

“The ability for workers to move smoothly around all parts of the energy mix, from jobs in the oil and gas sector to specialist roles in wind and other areas of the energy transition, can help preserve and expand the UK’s homegrown energy industry and speed the transition process,” the release said.

That joint release noted that a cross-sector partnership comprising OEUK, RenewableUK, OPITO, Global Wind Organisation (GWO), and representatives from oil and gas and offshore wind energy sector employers alongside government, trade union, trade and skills bodies, had contributed expertise to the skills passport project.

“Further refinements, including user-testing of the new mechanism, are scheduled in the summer and autumn before a final version is made freely available later this year,” that release said.

In the release, OEUK’s Heidenrich said, “the UK’s energy future hinges upon the expertise of our exceptional offshore workforce”.

“The creation of the skills passport will help take full advantage of worker experience and capabilities while ensuring the preservation of jobs and communities nationwide,” the OEUK representative added.

“A skilled future, secure energy, and a sustainable journey to net zero – that is what our people represent. That is what our people can deliver with the right support and cross-sector mobility,” Heidenrich continued.

RenewableUK’s Cooper said in the release, “we are strongly committed to easing the transfer of workers from different parts of the energy sector into renewables”.

“Offshore wind companies need to attract oil and gas workers with valuable experience and transferable skills into our sector,” Cooper added.

“We will continue to work with a wide range of partners and colleagues from other organizations to achieve this, enabling highly skilled people to find new career opportunities in the transition to clean power,” Cooper continued.

The Scottish Government’s Martin said in the release, “I welcome this progress by industry on developing an Offshore Skills Passport for Scotland’s oil and gas workers”.

“Our valued and highly skilled offshore energy workforces play a vital role in the transition to renewable energy sources and the passport will play an important role in supporting this. We urge industry partners to further develop and roll-out this initiative at pace,” Martin added.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com