Boosting offshore wind skills for environmental professions: Investigation into improving offshore wind skills and recruitment from academia.

Published online
27 Oct 2022
Published by
Natural England
Content type
Reports
Website(s)

Author(s)
Munro, P. & Elliot, M. & Mazik, K. & Weir, J.

Publication language
English
Location
UK

Abstract

In this report, the UK Government has made offshore wind (OWF) a core part of its future energy strategy. The University of Hull were contracted to identify the range of job roles and skills needed to deliver environmental advice in the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (SNCBs) and the Marine Management Organization (MMO), the key academic institutions active in marine environmental sciences, and the scope and options for boosting environmental content relevant to the OWF sector with a view to enhancing future recruitment into the respective organizations. The content of courses applicable to the needs of SNCBs and MMO, provided by a selection of the leading academic institutions, was reviewed to identify current provision and scope opportunities for enhancement. Resulting from those reviews, the University of Hull propose the following recommendations for academic institutions and SNCBs to improve the provision of OWF skills for future recruitment into DEFRA family roles. The combination of relevant skills provision from institutions, increased visibility of SNCBs/MMO and clear opportunities for personal development of staff is expected to improve recruitment of people with the right experience, aptitude and training to meet the sectors growing workforce needs.

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