The Netherlands Wind Energy Association (NWEA), Atlas Professionals and DOB-Academy have launched an initiative to increase the pool of qualified personnel in the offshore wind sector.
The Renewables Roadshow has an aim to promote working in the wind industry among adolescents and create the foundation for a strong future workforce and specialists in the sector.
According to Atlas Professionals, to realize the development of offshore wind farms in the Netherlands, substantial growth of the pool of qualified professionals is needed.
The company believes that re-skilling workers from the oil & gas industry is part of the short-term solution to fill the upcoming human capital gap, while engaging the next generation from a young age to work in the renewables industry is a long-term one.
The new initiative is organized by visiting vocational educational institutes in the Netherlands. Depending on the time available, the schools can pick and mix between a fixed set of activities and presentations.
“At Atlas we are convinced that the industry cannot rely on re-skilling workers from other industries as a long-term, cast-iron solution. With notoriously higher rates than the wind sector, we are already noticing that oil & gas professionals are returning to the sector as their activities increase,” said Joost Pellis , Strategic Manager Renewables & Marine at Atlas Professionals.
“We need to prepare other solutions, such as this Renewables Roadshow, to get increased awareness of the Renewables career opportunities among young people. We want adolescents pursuing a technical career to realize that they can also pursue a career in offshore wind.”