Skills body, the Alliance of Sector Skills Councils in Scotland (Alliance Scotland) has given its backing to proposals for the creation of a new fund designed to support Scotland’s emerging renewable energy industry.

Through its 23 constituent Sector Skills Councils (SSCs), the Alliance Scotland represents employers on skills issues in areas ranging from construction to financial services and hospitality to energy.

Giving evidence to a Scottish Government consultation entitled “Securing the benefits of Scotland’s next energy revolution”, the Alliance Scotland has called for a proportion of the proposed “Future Generations Fund” to be invested in the skills needed for Scotland’s renewable energy sector to take off.

Recent research by Scottish Renewables suggests the offshore wind industry alone has the potential to create more than 28,000 full-time equivalent jobs in Scotland, with an additional 20,000 jobs created through indirect and induced effects by 2020.

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At the same time, there is already evidence that the renewable energy industry is facing difficulties in finding suitably skilled workers to fill vacancies in roles including project managers, electrical engineers and turbine technicians.

A recent study by renewable energy industry trade body RenewableUK found more than 25% of green energy employers struggling to fill certain roles, compared with just 3% in 2008.

Jacqui Hepburn, Director of the Alliance for Sector Skills Councils in Scotland, commented: “It is clear that the renewable energy industry offers huge potential for future employment and economic growth in Scotland. The Scottish Government is to be commended for recognising this potential and for planning ahead to make it happen.

“The next few years will be crucial since many of these industries may not truly begin to take off until the middle of the decade. By that point, we need to have in place enough people with the right skills to meet a major spike in labour demand.

“In particular, the creation of a fund along the lines of the Future Generations Fund set out in this consultation paper would enable necessary up-front investment in skills to be made, allowing the renewable energy sector to address existing and emerging skills shortages and to fully realise its potential.”

Ms Hepburn concluded: “An emerging new industry such as renewable energy needs to be nurtured and putting in place the right skills is a key ingredient for success.”

(GK)