Investment, Planning and Skills Bring Growth to UK Renewable Energy Sector
Skills Crisis Threatens Domestic Employment The industry also requires more investment in education, awareness building and incentive schemes to ensure that it is attracting the right personnel and that their skills are sustainable and relevant to the sector. As with any new and fast-growing industry, there is a skills gap emerging in the renewable energy sector that is threatening the security of jobs for UK workers. Taylor Hopkinson Associates has witnessed first-hand a number of energy companies already short on skills, particularly engineers and senior managers in the wind sector. Countries such as Germany and Denmark are already in a position to fill this skills gap, but the UK remains some way behind, particularly in developing manufacturing and operations skills. The UK’s renewable energy sector is predicted to supply a further 20,000 jobs by 2020, but many of these positions could go abroad if the skills cannot be provided domestically.
Barriers to Skills Development
The UK lacks the input of renewable energy skills due to a shortage of further education courses, apprenticeship schemes and cross-skilling courses provided by sector employers. There is also a lack of awareness among school leavers and skilled workers about the opportunities and there are few incentive schemes to encourage more people to consider a career in the renewable energy sector. A further barrier is the continued reluctance of renewable energy companies and the supply chain to hire people without direct experience. Many energy and supply chain companies advertise, and hold out, for candidates with direct renewable energy experience rather than tapping into the rich pool of transferable skills from related sectors, such as oil and gas, utilities and telecoms.
Transferable Skills Provide Short-term Solution There are considerable opportunities for senior managers within the oil and gas sector who already have the necessary skill sets but are unaware of the opportunities. There is a also a misconception in the oil and gas sector that the renewable energy sector does not pay well. At this time, there is only a 5–10% reduction in annual salaries for
The impact of £7million on large multinationals is negligible, but could make a big difference to new start-up companies that are in greater need of financial support.
mid- and high-level managers compared with the oil and gas sector. This gap will shrink as the sector grows. The advice of Taylor Hopkinson Associates is to act now, when the best jobs are available and demand is outstripping supply. Leave it too long and key positions will be filled.
There are already many examples of managers, operational and engineering workers who have successfully made the transition to the renewable energy sector from other industries. Scott Sutherland, now a successful wind turbine manager at EDF Energy Renewables, applied his skills from the automotive industry to wind turbine engineering,
SELCO D1000 - Made To Protect Your Power Installation
The SELCO D1000 Arc Fault Protection System is designed to reduce the effects of arc faults in switchgear and transformer installations.
Extremely fast arc fault and overcurrent detection, fibre optical sensors, event logging and self- supervision makes the D1000 Arc Fault Protection System the efficient way to reduce damage, minimise production downtime and improve personnel safety in wind turbines and electrical switchgear in general.
SELCO A/S has for more than 25 years been a leading manufacturer and supplier of high quality protection and control solutions to the power and energy markets world-wide. We have proudly provided our customers with products and solutions for power generation control and protection, engine supervision, alarm process monitoring and arc fault protection.
For more information please visit
www.selco.com
SELCO A/S • DK-4000 Roskilde • Denmark
www.selco.com
D1000 Arc Fault Protection
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