A Focus on the Low Carbon Energy Industry
Low Carbon Energy Skills Research
The North Wales Regional Skills Partnership (NWRSP) recently commissioned Wavehill to undertake a skills analysis across the low carbon energy industry in North Wales, including offshore and onshore Wind, Marine including tidal as well as Nuclear including SMR developments and Decommissioning. The work was steered by key developers in the region, RWE, Magnox, BP, Cwmni Egino and Morlais.
The project objective was to better understand the skills and job roles required by developers and their supply chain, now and over the next 10 years. This research was also key in identifying any skills gaps and shortages faced by the industry. The next step in this project is to work with providers in the region to understand the provision that is available against what is required by the industry and identify any gaps (if any). Below are some key findings from the research:
- Need for certainty from Government and Investors in the flow of projects that come through planning. Many stakeholders noted that North Wales had been burnt by Wylfa Newydd not going through, which had created some cynicism among young people and training providers for future opportunities.
- Large shortage of people with planning and consent skills or not finding the opportunities in Wales attractive enough. The lack of planning Masters course in North Wales may lead to graduates not considering this as a potential destination.
- The skills that are in demand are highly transferable to other industries, creating lots of competition. This leads to displacement and industries not working together to maximise the opportunities of critical mass in an area. There needs to be coordination of skills provision and need across the various subsectors.
- According to the literature, there are industries that are currently in decline (such as oil and gas) which contain a large number of workers that have the potential to be reskilled or upskilled to work in the Low Carbon Energy sector.
- Strengthening talent in North Wales to create a workforce that has a propensity to stay in the area is likely to be more successful than trying to compete to attract people to the area.
- Some stakeholders raised concerns that there was not sufficient funding to support the training of workers in the small firms within the supply chain.
Follow this link to read the full report and we kindly ask that you share amongst your network.
Prospectus and short video for Low Carbon Energy Industry Employers
Work on the development of a corporate prospectus and video for businesses is nearing the end and will soon be ready to launch. These resources highlight the excellent educational and training facilities available across our colleges and universities in North Wales. Case studies from employers and stakeholders are also included within the prospectus to showcase good news stories and provide examples of how agile and flexible providers are to meet the needs of employers.
Follow this link to access the prospectus, and we kindly ask that you share amongst your networks.
North Wales Regional Skills Partnership
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