Jobs in offshore wind have surged 16 per cent in a year - with the Humber region topping the charts in England.
More than 31,000 people are now employed in the burgeoning UK sector, up from 26,000 last year, according to a report released on Monday by the Offshore Wind Industry Council.
It also showed a substantial increase in the billions of pounds of private investment which the sector is attracting every year.
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Melanie Onn, deputy chief executive of trade body Renewable UK and freshly crowned Humber Renewables Champion, has led on OWIC’s People & Skills workstream. She said: “The UK offshore wind industry is a powerhouse for job creation. I’ve seen at first hand the way that my home town of Grimsby is being transformed by this dynamic sector which is bringing billions of private sector investment into coastal communities up and down the country.
“This report shows that we’re making rapid progress in seizing the economic benefits of the Green Industrial Revolution, and that we’ll need to continue to grow fast to ensure that we meet the Government’s target of 50 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030 - a fivefold increase in our current capacity. That’s why it’s important for industry and Government to work together to address skills shortages in areas like electrical engineering and data analysis, so we can boost the number of high-quality green jobs in offshore wind throughout this decade.”
Orsted alone now employs 550 people at its East Coast Hub at the first port of call on the Humber, with Siemens Gamesa across the river also recruiting as it expands its huge blade-building facility.
Yorkshire and the Humber was behind only Scotland in job creation, up 30 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.
A total of 19,600 are direct jobs, solely in offshore wind, with 11,500 with supply chain companies which manufacture products for the offshore wind industry as well as goods for other sectors.
The study estimates that by 2030, the industry will employ more than 97,000 people in the UK, while between 2022 and 2030, the industry will see £155 billion of private investment in new offshore wind projects, taking the average annual spend to over £17 billion a year. This is significantly higher than the £10 billion figure reported last year.
It reflects the enormous expansion of the UK’s total pipeline of offshore wind projects at all stages of development over the past 12 months, which now stands at 86GW. This 60 per cent increase has been driven mainly by major leasing round announcements by The Crown Estate (8GW) and Crown Estate Scotland (25GW).
Contracts for difference auctions - controlling subsidy distribution - have also been made annual.
The co-chair of OWIC, Danielle Lane, UK country manager for Vattenfall, said: “The Government’s Energy Security Strategy puts offshore wind at the heart of our future green energy system. We’re working closely with ministers to pull out all the stops so that we can build vital new green energy infrastructure projects as swiftly as possible to boost Britain’s energy independence. Attracting a diverse range of talented people into this sector is the key to accelerating our transition to home-grown clean power”.
The study also shows that the percentage of women working in offshore wind has increased slightly from 18 per cent reported a year ago to 19.25 per cent, which was welcomed, but the industry still has some way to go before reaching its target of 33 per cent by 2030.
Apprentices make up 2 per cent of the workforce, an increase of 0.2 per cent on a year ago - due mainly to the impact of the pandemic - taking the industry closer towards its target of 2.5 per cent.
The need to address the risk of recruitment gaps was highlighted, with measures to increase the number of people with high-level electrical and digital skills entering the sector, to meet current and future demand.
Energy Minister Greg Hands said: “This report demonstrates the extraordinary potential of renewable energy to create jobs, drive investment and secure cheaper, clean electricity. We have ambitious plans to go even further as the UK becomes a global renewable energy powerhouse.”
