UK tackles renewable skills shortage
The new UK Renewables Training Network aims to help bridge a skills gap in the industry.
A new £1.2 million training initiative has been set up by the UK renewable industry and the British government to help tackle the skills shortage in the sector.
Called The Renewables Training Network (RTN), the UK’s renewable energy organisation, RenewableUK, hopes that it will help pave the way for over 77,500 new jobs in UK wind, wave and tidal industries and supply chain within the next ten years.
RenewableUK has secured £600,000 worth of support from business for the new Network, matched by £600,000 of government funding.
The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) has matched this amount with a £580,000 award from the Growth and Innovation Fund.
RenewableUK maintain that the wind and marine energy will support 88,300 UK jobs by 2021, up from 10,600 today - if the right policies and financial conditions are in place, and sufficient skilled recruits can be found.
Two thousand new training places will be delivered by the RTN over the next 2 years.
Maria McCaffery, Chief Executive of RenewableUK, said, “It’s great news that we’ve had widespread support to create an initiative to address the training gap. The renewable energy industry is one of the fastest growing areas of the economy, and this initiative is essential to ensure that growth can continue - and that people from a diverse set of backgrounds can make the most of the enormous job opportunities. Working collaboratively with the National Skills Academy for Power, RenewableUK is very excited about setting up and running this project.”
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