A majority of business supplying the offshore wind industry are optimistic about future growth, a new study has indicated.
The Offshore Wind Supply Chain Confidence Survey conducted by ORE Catapult, which runs the National Renewable Energy Centre in Blyth, found 63% of firms expressed an increase in confidence over the past year. The survey of 300 businesses, many of them small companies with fewer than 100 employees, was carried out between the end of September and early November.
Respondents included those dedicated to the renewables sector as well as 27% from oil and as and 25% from other sectors such as energy generation, automotive, aerospace, defence, transport and professional services who may be supplying offshore wind operators. Recruitment and retention of talent were identified as key challenges owing to the rapid growth of the renewables industry and the need for technically specific expertise and experience.
Read more: Low carbon jobs offer opportunity to North East, new report says
ORE's findings also show that the oil and gas sector is struggling to meet its own recruitment challenges and it can't be assumed that the skills shortage in the offshore renewable sector will be plugged via a short term transition. In a report summarising the survey, the authors suggest the offshore wind industry should aim to provide more opportunities to oil and gas firms, which they say could help provide the required innovation to drive wind.
ORE suggests that more targeted skills development initiatives should be introduced, and informed by the Offshore Wind Industry Council and Renewable UK's Skills and Workforce survey 2023. And in a bid to open up market opportunities to more firms, the authors say offshore wind project developers should populate a 'tool' with upcoming procurement opportunities collated in one place.
ORE Catapult chief executive Andrew Jamieson, said: "Innovation throughout our supply chain has been the single biggest driver to date behind the UK’s phenomenal success in delivering affordable, clean energy from offshore wind. The buoyancy of the UK’s supply chain revealed by our survey, despite the current economic challenges, is hugely encouraging and provides a high degree of confidence that we will continue to see tremendous economic and job growth from technology and process innovation in offshore wind.”
Melanie Onn, deputy chief executive of RenewableUK, said: "This survey highlights a strong sense of confidence among supply chain companies in the clean energy sector that they will continue to expand as the market grows even larger. We can help those companies by intensifying our work to reach out to them proactively, flagging up further opportunities to win new contracts, as well as encouraging new firms to enter our sector.
"The industry is also determined to maximise the number of high-quality jobs we're creating right across the sector by ensuring that excellent training opportunities are in place for roles at every level.”
READ NEXT:
