Energy Skills Alliance members, OPITO and ECITB are set to fund the UK Offshore Energy Skills Intelligence Hub.
The initiative aims to demonstrate the people and skills needed in the sector between now and 2050.
North Sea Transition Deal Integrated People and Skills Strategy set out goals to improve skill data within the industry in 2022. This joint venture plans on providing that information which it claims is lacking in the energy sector.
The two organisations will work with Opergy, a UK-based energy consultancy with experience in skills mapping, to develop a comprehensive resource that will capture the offshore energy industry’s people and skills requirements as we move towards net zero and beyond.
Information gathered will be presented on a cloud-based platform that will be free to access and provide ready-to-use reports and valuable insights.
Opergy Group partner, Martin Dronfield, said: “The Opergy Group of companies is honoured to be working alongside the Energy Skills Alliance to develop the UK’s very first integrated view of our offshore energy sector’s current and future people and skills needs.
“Access to clear workforce data through the Energy Skills Intelligence Hub underpins almost all of the people and skills leadership decisions we need to take to maximise the agility and adaptability of our existing workforce, whilst also attracting new entrants and young people and balancing the ethnicity, diversity, and inclusiveness of our amazing industry sectors.”
When the UK Offshore Energy Skills Intelligence Hub launches it will focus on UK offshore production including; oil and gas, fixed and floating offshore wind, hydrogen production and carbon capture utilisation and storage.
The initiative’s scope has the potential to expand to incorporate other industrial sectors with transferrable skills to the offshore energy sector.
OPITO and ECITB have said they want to work with trade bodies, regional clusters, and standards organisations “to develop a collaborative approach that sets the direction for companies committed to investing in the creation of an agile, flexible and sustainable workforce.”
OPITO chief executive, John McDonald, said: “Identifying, training, and transitioning the workforce is one of the greatest challenges we face when we consider how we will achieve our national net zero targets.
“We know workforce demand in the energy sector is likely to outstrip potential supply over the next decade. As the sources of our energy diversify and evolve, we must begin to gather consistent and comparable data which will allow us to make targeted interventions and anticipate future needs, based on robust data and evidence.
“The development of the UK Offshore Energy Skills Intelligence Hub builds on great work already underway by the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) and RenewableUK in the offshore wind sector.
“We are committed to working closely with partners across industry, including trade associations, regional clusters and fellow training and standards bodies and academia, as we look to 2030 and beyond.”
Chief executive at ECITB, Chris Claydon, added: “As the employer-led skills body for the engineering construction industry, the ECITB is pleased to support the development of the UK Offshore Energy Skills Intelligence Hub.
“Enhancing understanding of the future supply and demand for skilled workers across the energy sector is vital to supporting our industries navigate the energy transition.
“This work will complement the ECITB’s labour market intelligence programme, which identifies skills needs across the wider industry, including onshore energy and other process engineering sectors, all of which will play a critical role in achieving our net zero goals.”
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