The Energy Skills Transformation Action Plan provides support from the wind, oil and gas sectors

The implementation of the Skills Passport commitment is set out in both the North Sea Transformation Agreement and the UK Government Offshore Wind Sector Agreement.

The passport aims to show both workers and employers how skills and qualifications can be recognized by employers in various sectors such as oil and gas and offshore wind. The ability for employees to move seamlessly across all elements of the energy mix, from roles in the oil and gas sector to specialist roles in the wind sector and other areas of the energy transition, can help sustain and grow the UK’s domestic energy industry and accelerate the transformation process.

“We are strongly committed to facilitating the transition of workers from different parts of the energy sector to renewables,” said Jane Cooper, executive director of Offshore Wind at RenewableUK. “Offshore wind companies need to attract oil and gas workers to our sector with valuable experience and skills that can be leveraged into the future. To achieve this, we will continue to work with a wide range of partners and collaborators from other organizations, enabling highly skilled workers to find new career opportunities in the clean energy transition.

There are currently thousands of skilled workers in the UK oil and gas sector and these numbers will decline over the coming decades, while the UK’s growing offshore wind industry already employs 32,000 people and this number is expected to grow to over 100,000 by 2030 .

Industry training organizations estimate that the total number of jobs in energy production will reach 211,000 by 2030, and the passport could be adapted to other sectors to help the UK and devolved countries achieve net zero targets.

Energy industry leaders want these new jobs to go to British workers with the right skills across sectors, which means a framework for recognizing specialist knowledge needs to be agreed.

Oil and gas production in the UK is currently falling by around 12 per cent a year. Research commissioned by Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) has found that 90 per cent of oil and gas workers have transferable skills to new offshore jobs in the renewable energy industry.

A cross-sector partnership including Offshore Energies UK, RenewableUK, OPITO, the Global Wind Organization (GWO) and employer representatives from the oil and gas and offshore wind sectors, together with government, trade unions, trade and skills bodies, contributed expertise to the Skills Passport project.

The industry-led project has received £3.7 million of support from the Scottish Government’s Just Transition Fund to OPITO, reflecting the particular importance of the offshore energy transition for Scotland.

The passport project focuses on aligning technical qualifications and mapping safety standards, creating career paths for relevant positions, and a mechanism for employers and employees to understand recognized standards.

This has resulted in the creation of career path information for over thirty roles in the oil and gas sector and entry routes into the wind industry into positions such as maintenance technician, commissioning technician, senior authorized high voltage technician and troubleshooting technician.

GWO and OPITO continue to collaborate to develop career paths for high-priority positions in offshore wind, which will be finalized later this year. This means that employees will be able to easily identify the further qualifications and training they need to apply for a given position.

Further improvements, including user testing of the new mechanism, are scheduled for summer and fall before the final version is made available for free later this year.

RenewableUK and OEUK will now look for other potential areas of work that could better support the movement of workers between sectors.

“The UK’s energy future depends on the expertise of our exceptional offshore workforce,” added Katy Heidenreich, OEUK Supply Chain and People Director. “Creating a Skills Passport will help make the most of workers’ experience and capabilities, while ensuring that jobs and communities are preserved across the country. A skilled future, secure energy and a sustainable journey to net zero – this is what our people represent. This is what our people can deliver with the right support and cross-sector mobility.”

Additional information:

Renewable in the UK