Public visibility of training provision and job opportunities are critical to ensure Ireland can match up its growing need for skills to meet the ambitious demands of the offshore wind industry.
Published in October 2024 by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, the Offshore Wind Skills Action Plan 2024, is an output of the skills and workforce workstream of the Offshore Wind Energy Programme, which outlines the activities required to drive delivery of offshore wind targets in Ireland.
Recognising that Ireland’s training provision and the potential gaps in provision could hinder the development of the long-term target to deliver 37GW of installed offshore wind by 2050, the action plan recommends the Government collaborates closely with the Irish offshore wind industry, relevant government departments, and third-party course providers for any intervention in skills development.
Building Our Potential: Ireland’s Offshore Wind Skills and Talent Needs by BVG Associates and other stakeholders had previously identified that 33 of 42 job roles anticipated to be key in helping to develop the emerging offshore wind industry faced significant recruitment challenges. The Offshore Wind Skills Action Plan 2024 consulted with industry to understand the essential and desirable qualifications and experience sought for each of the 33 job roles.
Recommendations under the action plan are split into four thematic categories, namely:
- attracting experienced workers to meet immediate skills needs;
- addressing provision gaps;
- promoting long-term workforce growth through attracting inexperienced hires; and
- adapting skills response to meet emerging needs.
Project phase
Of the total FTE year demand to 2040 for essential qualifications across all project phases, 54 per cent are degree level qualifications and 46 per cent are FET and PD qualifications. In contrast, of the total FTE year demand to 2040 for desirable qualifications across all project phases, 25 per cent are degree-level qualifications and 75 per cent are FET and PD qualifications.
The action plan indicates the development and project management phase of an offshore wind farm as having the largest demand for workers requiring degree level qualifications, with almost 60 per cent of this demand being for engineering degrees, where there is an estimated 11,000 FTE year demand to 2040.
In contrast, the operations, maintenance and service (OMS) phase of an offshore wind farm has the largest demand for workers requiring FET and PD qualifications. According to analysis, the manufacturing phase has a relatively low demand for workers requiring degree level qualifications, but about 4,300 FTE years requiring FET and PD qualifications.
2040
Out to 2040, job roles with an essential degree qualification have a requirement of some 12.000 FTE years, with the growing need for skilled workers increasing as the offshore wind industry expands. The action plan states that engineering degrees continue to dominate as the largest grouping needed. Electrical, environmental and planning, STEM, and non-specific degree classifications are deemed as a “moderate” level of demand at 38 per cent of total FTE demand, while computer science and automation maritime and seafaring and supply chain and logistics classifications have the least level of demand, at 2 per cent of the total FTE demand.
Recommending that the Government collaborates closely with “the Irish offshore wind industry, relevant government departments and third-party course providers” for any intervention in skills development within Ireland, the action plan suggests that this approach “will help to align the timing of intervention with the demand of offshore wind projects and maximise benefits to the Irish offshore wind industry”.
Amongst its recommendations, the action plan says that in relation to attracting experienced hires to meet immediate skills need the provision of “short, targeted courses such as micro-credentials to provide a grounding in offshore wind skills” could assist experienced career movers to enter the offshore wind industry, while informed industry campaigns could attract experienced offshore wind workers, including Irish nationals, working abroad to relocate to Ireland.
On addressing potential provision gaps, the action plan suggests collaboration with HE and FE providers to raise awareness of the opportunities and training needs of the offshore wind industry, alongside work with industry and skills providers to assess the most effective interventions.
Encouraging the offshore wind industry to take on more staff without relevant industry experience, the introduction of offshore-specific modules to relevant higher education courses, and outreach programmes to engage primary and secondary level education students are some of the recommendations for promoting long-term workforce growth through attracting inexperienced hires.
Finally, the action plan recommends that the Department should closely monitor and promote the need for short, targeted courses such as microcredentials in areas of emerging skills need as the industry grows.
ORESS II
In October 2024, the Government published the terms and conditions of Ireland’s second offshore wind auction under the Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS), setting the framework for an auction for two-way CFD support for a 900 MW offshore wind farm to be developed in the first site of the South Coast DMAP. The Tonn Nua Auction, which is off the cost of County Waterford, is expected to open in Q1 2025, with the bidding phase to take place in Q2 2025.
