Scotland offers extensive skills support for businesses and workers transitioning into the offshore wind industry, with training programmes, funding initiatives, and industry partnerships designed to upskill the workforce. Scotland’s colleges and universities offer industry-aligned courses, apprenticeships, and graduate programmes in renewable energy and offshore engineering, ensuring a skilled workforce for the country’s growing offshore wind sector.
Universities and Colleges:
There are various educational programmes offered by Scottish Universities and Colleges that provide courses in renewable energy, offshore engineering, and sustainable development.
Industry Certifications:
Employees can take part in Global Wind organisation (GWO) training courses or get certified by organisations like the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training organisation (OPITO) for offshore safety training.
Apprenticeships and Work-Based Learning:
Employers can take part in apprenticeship schemes to provide hands-on training in turbine assembly, project management, and offshore operations.
If you are an employer looking to transition into the offshore wind sector, the following resources are a great place to start:
The Energy Skills Alliance - OPITO
The Energy Skills Alliance is a cross-industry group led by OPITO, bringing together leaders from across the oil and gas, renewables, nuclear and refining industries, as well as representation from within regulators, governments and trade unions. It aims to develop an all-energy workforce for the future.
Green Jobs Workforce Academy | My World of Work
The Green Jobs Workforce Academy, delivered by Skills Development Scotland, helps people take a greener approach to their careers, from accessing training and learning new skills, to finding a new green job.
Global Wind Technology Scotland
Global Wind Technology (GWT) was established with the vision to improve Health and Safety within the wind energy sector. GWT has training centres in Glasgow and Edinburgh delivering approved safety training courses which are mandatory for working with wind turbines.
The Energy Skills Passport enables workers and employers to easily identify which qualifications and training standards, such as health and safety, are needed for specific roles in offshore wind. As part of the Energy Skills Passport, an interactive tool provides clarity on which qualifications are mutually recognised across the sector to avoid any duplication of training courses, as well as mapping out potential career pathways.
Scotland's national offshore wind supply chain cluster works on behalf of members to promote the capabilities of companies and organisations in the offshore wind sector and to assist them in accessing new opportunities.
Offshore Wind Growth Partnership
The offshore wind growth partnership supports the development of the UK offshore wind supply chain, generation of know-how, economic value, skilled jobs and export income for UK businesses.
National Energy Skills Accelerator
NESA is a not-for-profit organisation providing a single point of contact for the energy industry to access a wide range of training and skills development programmes and R&D capabilities in its partner institutions to support the changing needs of energy sector employers and the workforce as they respond to energy transition opportunities.
Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult
ORE Catapult is the UK’s leading technology innovation and research centre for offshore renewable energy, playing a key role in delivering the UK’s Net Zero targets by accelerating the creation and growth of UK companies in the offshore renewable energy sector.