Employment and specialist professions within the offshore wind energy sector
The Wind Energy Agency (WAB) and consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) assert in a study that the number of direct and indirect employees could increase to a total of 33,000 employees by the year 2021. Of these, around 28,000 are forecast to be employed by smaller and medium-sized operators. The availability of qualified workers presents a major challenge for companies involved in the expansion of offshore wind energy. New professional profiles are emerging from wind energy-specific areas of activity in the maritime environment, and these new criteria are not yet fulfilled, or are only partially fulfilled, by existing training programmes in the form of vocational training and at universities.
Educational institutions are developing new programmes for education and training
Opportunities for further professional training are particularly sought after in the area of vocational training. Education and training providers are reacting to increasing demand for specialist professionals by developing new, offshore-specific offerings. There are now various training courses focussed on wind energy that are available in Germany, some of which are specifically focussed on offshore wind energy – particularly in relation to areas such as turbine and component production, erection and maintenance.
Some of the options available include, for example: further training to qualify as a service engineer or technician, building technician, European Adhesive Bonder, specialist training for maintenance and repair of rotor blades, welding etc. According to a study conducted by the Offshore Foundation, there were around 53 job opportunities available with 21 institutions in North Germany in 2012 which had a specialised focus on offshore wind energy. The number of opportunities has increased further in the meantime. The Offshore Foundation’s training and education database currently includes around 300 job opportunities across Germany which mention know-how on the subject of offshore wind energy (as of September 2015).
