Industry Today - Are you into it?
New Users - Register click here
A response to calls to reduce ambitions towards the offshore wind sector from 2020 following the Committee for Climate Changes recent industry report.
Posted via Industry Today. Are you into it? Follow us on Twitter @IndustryToday
Tom Hopkinson, Managing Director of renewable recruitment experts Taylor Hopkinson Associates in Glasgow, has warned that reducing government commitment to the Offshore sector beyond 2020 is short term thinking, and could jeopardise the UK's ability to develop skills for the sector, as well as employment opportunities for our workforce.
Tom Hopkinson sits on the RenewableUK Skills and Education Strategy Group and has been involved over the last couple of years with the Renewable Energy Workforce Planning Group which have been set up by the industry and government to gauge what skills are, and will be, required by the industry and to ensure training and FE institutions deliver on these requirements.
"My concern is this latest report will cause a sense of uncertainty after 2020 which is a short term investment horizon when talking about developing workforces. The 2020's is a period of time when the demand for skills will be at its peak as the Offshore sector's round three projects are being constructed and entering operation. Without clear career paths in the UK market following 2020 many graduates and professionals will not commit their futures to it."
"Graduates considering which courses to pick may be put off by this report - no one wants to invest in a sector who's future hangs in the balance. 'Short-termism' lowers confidence for graduates and this is not good for skills development."
Mr Hopkinson continues:
"We have also got to consider what private training institutions are going to make of all this - it is unlikely they will want to make the huge investments required for an eight year window of opportunity and no guarantees that demand will continue after 2020 - they need to be in it for the long term for it make commercial sense. With education funding under pressure right now, a short term view could influence the kind of courses/syllabuses these education and training establishments create. They may choose to focus on industries with a clearer long term view. We need the full support of these institutions if we are to generate the right talent."
Contact Information
James Walter
Candid Media
2/7 Powderhall Rigg
Edinburgh
EH7 4GA
BACK TO TOP