The National Skills Academy for Power and the Crown Estate – partners in offshore energy skills

The Crown Estate and the National Skills Academy for Power (the Skills Academy) has signed an agreement in which: ‘The Crown Estate recognises the Skills Academy as its partner for delivery of skills initiatives in offshore wind and marine energy. The Skills Academy will allocate appropriate resource and expertise to deliver the agreed skills initiatives and seek to maximise the potential for involvement in offshore wind and marine energy initiatives within its portfolio of programmes and projects.’

This is an exciting time for the off shore renewables industry and this partnership brings together the influence and commitment of The Crown Estate with the skills expertise of the Skills Academy, to ensure that UK has the infrastructure and availability to capitalise on the opportunities it faces.

The Crown Estate, as manager of the UK Seabed, and the Skills Academy have been working closely together to identify, promote and develop skills solutions in the offshore renewables area. To date there are already fantastic examples of collaborative working in the renewables industry such as: the Think Power sector attraction campaign, Talent Bank (a recruitment and training product) and The Crown Estate Energy Wall part of the U-Explore initiative.

Through the partnership this will continue to develop:

• UK acceptance of the Global Wind Organisation standards, common standards across Europe, will be moved forward, making the industry safer.
• Young people will have better quality information to help them make informed choices about the industry and the routes to entry.
• Colleges and training providers will be better prepared to deliver the right skills in the right places helping employers use local skills rather than having to import them.
• Through the competency accord, supply chain organisations will be able to operate effectively across different sites and for different businesses without having to repeat costly training.

As the financial picture for offshore renewables is becoming clearer, investment will start to flow and the demand for skills will increase with it. By working together, The Crown Estate and the Skills Academy are perfectly placed to help the industry prepare for the jobs as they arise.

-ENDS-

For further media information or high resolution photography please contact Andrea Allison in the Marketing and Communications Team at the National Skills Academy for Power:

T: 0845 077 7012

E: communications@power.nsacademy.co.uk

Notes to editors:

Issued by: the National Skills Academy for Power

T: 0845 077 99 22

E: communications@euskills.co.uk

Date of release: 12.08.2013

About the National Skills Academy for Power:

The National Skills Academy for Power (the Skills Academy) has a critical role in delivering the training and development needs of the power sector.  Through collaboration with leading employers, the Skills Academy aims to develop the quality and consistency of training and deliver a sustainable and flexible talent pool.  Skills Academy members include Balfour Beatty, E.ON (UK), National Grid and Scottish Power.

Initiated by Government, the Skills Academy recognises that overcoming skills challenges in the power sector cannot be done by one organisation alone.  The Skills Academy brings together market leaders to create the engineers of tomorrow, to respond to a rapidly evolving and increasingly sophisticated power industry.

Through Think Power, an initiative of the Skills Academy, key UK power companies and training providers have joined together, using their experience and knowledge to champion the benefits of working in the Power Sector, which offers: job security, a variety of work, great training and development opportunities, as well as the chance to contribute to the important future energy challenges faces by the UK.

By challenging perceptions and introducing fresh ideas about the sector, Think Power aims to encourage more people into the Power Sector, which in the coming years will need to recruit 50,000 technicians, craftspeople and engineers for key projects.

The Think Power website promotes the fantastic careers and benefits on offer. It also offers an online vacancy service whereby Members of the Skills Academy can post their vacancies and individuals can search and apply for jobs in the Power Sector.

The Skills Academy works in association with Energy & Utility Skills (EU Skills) the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the gas, power, waste management and water industries.

For more information about the Skills Academy, please go to www.power.nsacademy.co.uk/

For more information on Think Power visit www.thinkpowersector.co.uk

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