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9. Skills
Vision
To ensure that employers across the renewables sector in Scotland have the skills they need now and in the future.
Overview
To maximise the potential development of the renewable energy industry, it is important to get the right skills, in the right places, at the right time and in the right quantities. BERR analysis indicates that up to 160,000 jobs could be created to deliver the necessary investment in the UK, and the Scottish Government expect at a bare minimum that 16,000 of these could be created in Scotland. In addition, there is a need to develop the grid infrastructure, sustain employment during the economic downturn and up-skill the existing workforce to embrace and support the renewable energy agenda.
In order to address the skills demands of industry there is a requirement for collaborative working across government and its agencies. The following section provides an overview of current activities, highlights key skills issues and presents recommendations and actions to ensure the renewables sector has the skills it needs now and in the future.
Skills Landscape Scotland There are a number of key organisations in Scotland with a remit for skills and manpower development and these organisations and their roles are explained below. Skills Development Scotland ( SDS) As Scotland's new skills body, SDS brings together four partner organisations (Careers Scotland, Scottish University for Industry/learndirect Scotland, and key skills elements in Scottish Enterprise and HIE) with a shared vision to drive forward sustained change in Scotland's skills performance. SDS will deliver comprehensive information, advice and guidance for careers and learning as well as extensive support for skills development. Scottish Funding Council ( SFC) The Scottish Funding Council ( SFC) distributes more than £1.7 billion to Scotland's 43 colleges and 20 universities for teaching and learning, research and other activities in support of Scottish government priorities. Jobcentre Plus ( JC+) Jobcentre Plus is a government agency supporting people of working age from welfare into work, and helping employers to fill their vacancies. Sector Skills Councils and Bodies ( SSC/Bs) SSCs represent employers' views across the UK, and have increasing levels of influence over skills policy, qualification reform and the way in which learning provision is delivered. The renewables labour market cuts across several sectors. As a result, AssetSkills, Cogent, ConstructionSkills, ECITB, EU Skills, Lantra, SEMTA and SummitSkills have formed a Renewable Energy Project Group and agreed a shared commitment to create a Skills Strategy to support the renewables agenda across the UK. A request for funding has been made to the UK Government to enable the Project Group to undertake analysis on skills needs, supply side provision, gaps, solutions and prioritisation of actions. |
Scottish Renewables Energy Skills Group ( RESG)
There is clearly a large amount of work being conducted on the skills needs for the sector, including at a UK level - through the work of the SSCs' Renewable Energy Project Group ( REPG) above. However, Scotland is already ahead of the game, having last year formed the Renewable Energy Skills Group ( RESG) in response to the increasing awareness that the predicted growth of the sector was in danger of not being matched by a parallel growth in adequately trained personnel. Hence some of the work planned by the REPG has already been carried out in Scotland, and the Scottish Government's aim is that, in 2009, the focus for action in Scotland should be via the Scottish RESG, with links to the UK Project Group.
Chaired by Paul McKelvie, Board member of the Scottish Funding Council, the Scottish RESG's membership is extensive. It includes representatives from the key sectors of higher and further education, Skills Development Scotland, Energy and Utility Skills, individuals from key renewables sectors and the Scottish Government. It has met three times since formation, and aims to report by the end of 2009.
The Scottish Government has already supported EU Skills to conduct a Renewable sector skills and education and training supply analysis for Scotland, in line with the methodology agreed by the UKREPG. The Scottish RESG is planning its future work on the basis of this report, including consideration of the barriers to meeting future skills needs and measures to overcome them, developing mechanisms to support and deliver futures skills requirements, the promotion of renewables as a dynamic area to work in and identifying the scope for up-skilling or re-skilling those currently in the sector or similar sectors.
Skills Issues
The recent research highlights the skills issues which are impacting on the renewables sector in Scotland as follows:
1. Sector recruitment and attractiveness
The EU Skills sector report suggests that the sector's image and attractiveness should be improved through engagement with Careers Advisers and schools to encourage greater awareness of careers in renewables and help to address the ageing profile of the industry.
Recent initiatives such as Skills Development Scotland's "The PATHIS Green" and, in the Highlands and Islands, HIE's "The Big Green Challenge" have been successful (see below).
Consideration will be given via the Scottish RESG as to how to build on existing initiatives, and link to emerging interventions such as the National Skills Academy for Power ( NSAP).
The Path is Green provided internet access to information on green jobs e.g. in recycling, conservation and renewable energy. More than 1200 pupils across Scotland visited and entered an online quiz ran a competition for schools supported by a BBC weather forecaster that received entries from 40 teams. For every £1 spent on the project it generated nearly £15 worth of PR activity. There were 79,062 unique visits to the website over the duration of campaign and almost 20,000 have clicked through to the website from online adverts. Following the success of the Big Green Challenge 2007, HIE ran the debating competition for S1-S3 pupils again during 2008-09. In total 43 teams from 26 secondary schools participated. There were three stages - local heats, semi final and grand final. At each stage the pupils had to research and debate renewable energy related motions. Each participating school had a visit from a renewables expert to help them prepare for the competition. The grand final was held in the Scottish Parliament, and televised online on Holyrood TV, allowing families, friends and in some cases the whole school to tune in and watch the proceedings. This was particularly appreciated given the distances the teams had to travel: Arran, Gairloch, Portree and Shetland. Sandwick Junior High won first prize and Portree came second. The first prize is a fact-finding trip to Iceland and second prize - a trip to the Eden Project in Cornwall. HIE is awaiting a full evaluation of the programme, but initial feedback has been very positive. |
2. Key technologies requiring immediate support
- General lack of Engineers and in particular Electrical Engineers with grid transmission alone requiring 9000 engineers across the UK by 2014.
- Wind - turbine maintenance and offshore skills - EU Skills BWEA and REPG.
- Marine - emerging issues needs further investigation.
- Micro - developing the installer network requiring the education and training network of high quality provision.
3. Foresight activities
EU Skills have developed a workforce planning tool which enables companies to undertake their own long term workforce planning and then share that information to obtain industry intelligence. This has informed the National Skills Academy for Power work plan and it is expected that this tool will evolve to provide the intelligence to create an effective market place for power sector skills delivery. This also provides the basic modelling to understand skills needs. It will be important to provide this service to companies involved in large scale renewables, both to help them look at their long terms skills planning and to provide the basis for industry intelligence.
This tool could be linked to the technology foresight work currently being undertaken by Scottish Enterprise to inform longer term manpower and skills scenario planning.
Solutions
Large scale needs: National Skills Academy for Power ( NSAP)
At a UK level, the power sector companies, working together on the Power Sector Skills Strategy Group ( PSSSG), have identified the critical skills challenges faced by the Power Sector over the next 15 years. They believe that to address these challenges a collaborative National Skills Academy Power ( NSAP) will be required. Although National Skills Academies are an English initiative (supported through the Learning and Skills Council (England), the power companies across the UK are providing matched funding and want their NSAP to be UK wide.
The NSAP is due to become operational in October 2009. At the business planning stage the importance of the Scottish influence has been recognised in looking at how 'regional/devolved nations' activities are prioritised, highlighting in particular the significance of the renewables sector in Scotland.
There is real potential for Scotland to drive forward some of the early implementation work in renewables and the Scottish Government will continue to help develop the proposals for an NSAP and how the Academy may operate in Scotland.
Micro-Renewable needs: Scottish RESG to address
While the central nature of the delivery of the skills pipeline for the large scale renewables is recognised, the micro renewables technologies skills issues must also be addressed and this will be a particular focus of the Scottish RESG.
EU Skills are developing a map of current and planned education and training provision which will allow the Scottish RESG to identify gaps, and to inform the structured development of locally available high quality education and training.
There is also a need to ensure that related professions, such as architects, planners, and quantity surveyors are fully aware of the specifications required when installing micro-renewables. Scottish Renewables have carried out an initial gap analysis for the Scottish Government on this issue, and follow up work will be led in the first instance by the FREDS Renewable Heat Group under the Scottish Renewable Heat Action Plan, with recommendations made to the Scottish RESG where appropriate.
Framework for Action
THEMES | PRIORITIES | ACTION | TIMESCALES |
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Standards And Qualifications | Develop Apprenticeship frameworks | - EU Skills and Summit Skills currently building the micro-renewable skills elements into their qualification structures to ensure that renewables become mainstream.
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- SSC/Bs are working with BWEA on the development of apprenticeship programmes for the sector. It is anticipated that this will build on qualifications already under development.
| - Initial meetings SSC/ BWEA summer 2009
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- SG will consider how to stimulate interest in these apprenticeship frameworks
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Develop up-skilling programmes | - Summit Skills are leading on work with SQA to develop micro renewables units for Solar and Heat Pump technologies.
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- EU Skills has requested that SQA expand this to include Biomass.
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- The RESG will work to develop education and training provider network.
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- For large scale renewables this will link to the work of the RESG and the NSAP (dependent on its development in Scotland)
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Develop standards and qualifications | - SSCs, through the REPG will consider Renewable Energy as part of the National Occupational Standards development plans.
- EU Skills have a work plan for 09/10 to develop an Occupational Functional Map for large scale renewables and develop any National Occupational Standards required to support a comprehensive range of flexible qualifications and programmes.
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Provision | Create database of provision | - EU Skills to develop FE and private provision database as a priority.
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- EU Skills will develop HE database
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Develop sufficient, high quality provision | - The RESG will work with partners and industry to establish high quality provision
| - To commence Autumn 2009 for micro
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Develop interim training centre for graduates | - Investigate potential to encourage graduates to undertake work experience to prepare them for the world of work
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Develop flexible management and leadership programmes | - The RESG will work to address the need for more management and leadership courses required to develop the next generation of managers and address the high labour turnover rate for this group
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Sector Recruitment and Attractiveness | Raise profile and sector image | - Through the RESG develop action plan with Skills Development Scotland ( SDS) (Careers Scotland) and other partners.
- This can build on lessons learnt from current activities such as 'The Path is Green'.
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Encourage recession hit employees to consider career in renewables | - Develop links with SDS and the PACE (Partnership Action for Continued Employment) Teams
| - Initiate discussions Summer 2009
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Enablers | Understanding the future manpower and skills requirements | - A skills foresight tool similar to the gas and power sector workforce modelling tool developed by EU Skills should be applied to the renewable sector to identify further priorities going forward
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Develop a programme to support skills development | - Scottish Government will work with its agencies to consider the establishment of an Energy Skills Action Plan Fund built on the lessons learnt from the Construction Skills Action Plan
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Develop interim strategy and action plan | - RESG to will work with members to develop an interim work plan and support the work of the REPG in developing a Renewables Skills Strategy for Scotland
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Develop Knowledge Transfer Partnerships | - Knowledge Transfer Partnerships between employers, stakeholders and academia should be encouraged to develop a shared understanding of issues and requirements.
- The RESG to build into their work plan
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Support diagnostic audits of employers skills needs | - Scottish Government will investigate opportunities to support employers with Skills Development Scotland
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Build on current research findings | - The RESG will work with FREDS to identify any additional research requirements
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Link into UK wide work | - The REPG will consider current intelligence and work with the RESG to develop a Skills Strategy for Scotland
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