A new audit, commissioned by the UK Government, has focused on offshore renewable energy in the North of England and Scotland, pointing out the strong contribution the region makes to the UK’s position as a global leader in innovation in offshore renewable energy.
The Offshore Renewable Energy Science and Innovation Audit (SIA) focused on the international competitiveness of the research and innovation activities in Northern England and Scotland in offshore renewable energy, the future needs in innovation and the skilled workforce in the sector.
The audit looked at the offshore renewable energy sector at major ports in the North East, Tees Valley, Humber and Liverpool local enterprise partnership areas and Scotland.
The report also referred to numbers from a Cambridge Econometrics study, which found that UK employment in the sector will, from approximately 10,000 direct full-time employees (FTE) in 2017, reach some 21,000 direct FTE by 2032. Furthermore, the study estimated an additional 37,000 indirect and induced jobs, with the sector supporting a total of almost 60,000 in the UK by 2032.
The SIA document states that there is an immediate need to join up education and training providers with the future industry demand for a higher-skilled workforce with key skills in areas including, but not limited to, engineering and manufacturing.
The Offshore Renewable Energy Science and Innovation Audit was one of eight audits commissioned by Government to set out the UK’s strengths in key areas. The audits help regions to map their research and innovation strengths and identify areas of potential global competitive advantage.
Led by Newcastle University, the project saw collaboration between Scottish Enterprise, the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, four Local Enterprise Partnerships and Durham, Liverpool and Hull Universities.