Offshore staff
LONDON — Employment in the U.K.’s offshore wind sector is surging, according to a new report from the Offshore Wind Industry Council.
The U.K. Offshore Wind Skills Intelligence Report says the industry supports more than 31,000 jobs, a 16% increase on the 26,000 jobs reported in last year’s survey.
Of these, 19,600 are direct jobs (in offshore wind) and 11,500 indirect jobs (in the supply chain companies manufacturing products for the offshore wind and other industries).
Geographically, 30% of the jobs are in Scotland, with 15% in Yorkshire and the Humber region of eastern England.
By 2030, the report forecasts that the sector will employ more than 97,000 people in total in the U.K., with £155 billion ($189 billion) of private investment anticipated in new offshore wind projects, taking the average annual spending to more than £17 billion ($20.7 billion) per year.
The total pipeline of offshore wind projects at all stages of development over the past 12 months is 86 GW, the report added.
However, the authors also flag the need to address the risk of recruitment gaps by increasing the number of staff with high-level electrical and digital skills entering the sector.
06.13.2022
