The new UK fairwork charter requires offshorewind developers to pay the skill fund or spend a minimum amount on skills training in the community.
Offshore wind developers will move to the UK’s growing offshore wind industry in support of oil and gas workers, apprentices or expulsions.
Through this charter, workers in coastal and industrial centers are set to benefit from skilled employment opportunities in the UK’s mission to ensure better workforce protection and clean, homemade energy.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband explained: “The UK’s clean energy future will be driven by safe and unionized work for locals across the country, from East Anglia to Teesside and Aberdeen.
“We support businesses investing in workers in these communities and secure a route into a long-term career for oil and gas workers, apprentices and school retirees.”
The key role of offshore winds in clean energy transitions.
When the UK reaches its clean power mission by 2030, offshore winds are estimated to support employment of up to 100,000 people, with many jobs outside of London located in the country’s regions.
The industry estimates that the typical salary for offshore wind workers is £10,000 higher than the UK average, with 90% of UK oil and gas labor having the skills to transfer to offshore renewables.
Offshore winds require skilled workers across the country in areas such as blade repairs, mechanics, wind turbine maintenance, marine spatial planning, and health and safety protocols.
How Fairwork Charters Provide Offshore-Like Skills
Skills training is provided through educational schemes, training facilities, new equipment or work experience and internships to create new opportunities for workers and unleash UK growth.
The proposal also encourages offshore wind developers and supply chain companies to create better quality, safe jobs in the sector, with better access to trade unions and stronger protections of wages and conditions.
These changes will help ensure that many of these jobs are available in the clean energy transition, providing long-term stability and employment opportunities, ensuring that these jobs are always skilled, safe and paid well.
“This initiative will provide opportunities to enhance skills across the energy sector, create and protect high-paying jobs, and support the renewal of coastal communities and industrial areas,” said Christina McCaneer, General Secretary at Unison.
“Working together under a fair work charter, unions, governments and businesses will enable workers to grow and strong protection.”
Development of a stable, long-term workforce
Fairwork charters are ahead of the UK’s first clean energy workforce strategy. This makes clean energy work not only widely available, but also high quality.
However, in some sectors, workers and unions are seeking more consistency on workplace standards and access to unions to support these roles.
“Training tomorrow’s clean energy workforce is one of the biggest challenges we face, and it’s fair that relying on this labour will contribute to our skills program,” said Sue Farns, senior vice-general general secretary at Prospect.
Today’s proposal ensures that offshore wind developers are always providing for their employees for the workforce by encouraging them to work in collaboration with trade unions to develop stable, long-term jobs.
This measure will be introduced through clean industry bonuses. This will allow offshore wind developers to fund the funds on the condition that new factories are built in underprivileged regions, or to promote economic growth and invest in more sustainable supply chains.
Turbocharged for onshore wind power development
The talks also call for opinions on the introduction of onshore wind to help turbocharge deployments in the UK after years of stagnation due to a de facto ban based on the previous government.
This follows the launch of the first ever land wind strategy government earlier this year, and will again acquire the country’s buildings as the sector is estimated to support up to 45,000 jobs in the UK by 2030.
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