A new report released by the Offshore Wind Sector Council (OWIC) is predicting a significant increase in jobs in the UK offshore wind sector by 2030 – with forecast jobs exceeding 100,000 for the first time.
Almost 70,000 additional workers are needed for offshore wind over the next seven years to manage the expected project pipeline of nearly 100 GW.
According to OWIC, the industry is set to employ 104,401 people by 2030 to meet current targets – an increase of 6,936 since last year’s forecast. The UK’s existing offshore wind workforce has increased to over 32,000 or by 4% compared to the end of 2021, including over 17,000 direct jobs.
In the short-to-medium term, OWIC is stressing a strong need for growth in jobs as several offshore wind farms advance to the construction phase, with some 88,500 jobs expected to be required by 2026, which is over 56,000 more than today’s workforce.
The report called for a strategy to tackle skills shortages in areas such as planning and consenting, high voltage electrical technicians, engineers, turbine technicians, and those with a range of digital skills.
Speaking at RenewableUK’s Global Offshore Wind 2023 conference in London, Graham Stuart, Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero, said: “As has been set out, the 100,000 jobs in this industry by 2030 is remarkable when you think about the number and opportunities that provides, and the kind of areas typically where these are found, many in the areas where we seek as a government to level up to ensure that economic opportunity is to be found everywhere. We know talent is equally shared around the country but economic opportunity isn’t always and offshore wind can play a part in that as well.”
