Late last year Skillnet Ireland, the national talent development agency for businesses, launched the Skillnet Offshore Wind Academy in partnership with Wind Energy Ireland, Ireland’s leading renewable energy representative body. The new national initiative will support mid-career professionals through a career-switching model which aims to create a pipeline of skilled workers for businesses operating in the emerging offshore wind services sector.
“Ireland now gets one third of its electricity from wind,” says Wind Energy Ireland chief executive Noel Cunniffe, who explains the background to the launch of the Offshore Wind Academy. “We are now a global leader in wind energy, with almost 5,000 megawatts (MW) installed. That’s all onshore wind, with the exception of the small Arklow Bank wind farm which was developed some years ago.
“Offshore wind represents a massive opportunity. Ireland’s sea area is nearly 10 times the size of its land area. It’s one of the largest countries in Europe but much of it is underwater. We are the envy of Europe in having that resource. It can provide power to Ireland and Europe if we develop it.”
The Government has set a number of targets for offshore wind, Cunniffe adds. The aim is to have 5 gigawatts (GW) installed by 2030, 20GW by 2040 and 37GW by 2050. Reaching those targets will involve the development of some the largest infrastructure projects ever seen in Ireland, Cunniffe notes.
Wind Energy Ireland came together with Skillnet Ireland and UK-based renewable energy consultancy BVG Associates in 2024 to assess the potential benefits of offshore wind and found that it could be worth up to €38 billion to the economy if the targets are met.
“But there is a shortage of skills to get the industry off the ground and sustain it into the future,” says Cunniffe. “That’s where the academy comes in.”
The academy is aimed at supporting Government policy in relation to renewable energy as well as the Climate Action Plan, according to Skillnet Ireland chief strategy officer Mark Jordan. “Building the capability to solve challenges around the green transition and improved sustainability for business is a strategic pillar within our portfolio.
“Renewable energy is a growth sector and offshore wind provides interesting opportunities for the Irish workforce and businesses. When we looked at it, we saw that it could grow to employ between 5,000 and 10,000 people directly and in the value chain over the next 10 years. It’s very significant.”
However, the skills required by the nascent industry are in short supply.
“There isn’t exactly a plethora of skills available,” Jordan notes. “We started working with partners in the industry to establish what roles would be required and the skills needed for them. We then looked at the skills found in other sectors and how they could be complemented with other skills to enable people to move into the new offshore wind energy industry; we are offering experienced professionals a pathway into a new industry.
“After that we worked with Wind Energy Ireland to co-create the Skillnet Offshore Wind Academy concept. As the industry grows and evolves over time the academy will be able to flex and scale and launch more and more programmes to meet its needs.”
A number of micro-credential courses have already been launched. “We are focusing on planning skills initially,” says Cunniffe. “There have been a lot of changes and new regulations introduced recently and not many people understand them. We want to bring people up to speed with the new legislative requirements. Micro-credential courses on the offshore grid and other aspects of offshore wind energy development will come in future.”
He points out that while much of the equipment required by offshore wind farms will be manufactured overseas and shipped to this country, there will still be requirements for a variety of different roles and skill sets.
“We are developing a seafarers’ certification course, for example. There will be opportunities for people in the fishing sector. They can provide a service ferrying people to and from platforms. One way of putting it is that at certain times of the year they can catch fish and at other times catch wind.”
The academy’s approach to addressing the skills deficit is worthy of note, says Jordan.
“What’s interesting here is that we are enhancing mid-career professional mobility. We are helping people to upskill on the basis of small, stackable micro-credentials. The first three courses were launched at the beginning of the year in conjunction with the University of Galway and UCC.”
Government backing, along with the commitment of Wind Energy Ireland and Skillnet Ireland, is also important.
“This is a long-term investment to support the growth of this industry in Ireland. We don’t have oil, we don’t have gold but we do have wind and we want to capture its potential.”
