A new UK Fair Work Charter will require offshore wind developers to pay into a skills fund or spend a minimum amount on skills training in their local communities.

Offshore wind developers will support oil and gas workers, apprentices, or school leavers to move into the UK’s growing offshore wind industry.

Through this charter, working people in coastal areas and industrial heartlands are set to benefit from better workforce protection and skilled job opportunities in Britain’s mission to secure clean, homegrown energy.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband explained: “Britain’s clean energy future will be powered by secure, unionised jobs for local people right across the country – from East Anglia to Teesside and Aberdeen.

“We’re backing businesses that invest in working people in these communities, securing a route to long-term careers for oil and gas workers, apprentices and school leavers.”

Offshore wind’s crucial role in the clean energy transition

As the UK reaches its clean power mission by 2030, offshore wind is estimated to support up to 100,000 jobs, with many jobs outside of London in coastal and rural parts of the country.

Industry estimates a typical salary for an offshore wind worker is £10,000 higher than the UK average, with 90% of the UK’s oil and gas workforce having skills that are transferable into offshore renewables.

Offshore wind requires skilled workers across the country in areas such as blade repair, mechanics, wind turbine maintenance, marine spatial planning and health and safety protocols.

How the Fair Work Charter provides better upskilling for offshore wind

Skills training could be provided through education schemes, training facilities, new equipment or work experience and internships, creating new opportunities for working people and unlocking growth across Britain.

Proposals also encourage offshore wind developers and supply chain firms to create more high-quality, secure jobs in the sector, with better access to trade unions and stronger protections on pay and terms and conditions.

These changes will help ensure these jobs are always skilled, secure and well-paid as more of these jobs become available on the clean energy transition, providing long-term stability and job opportunities.

“This initiative offers a chance to boost skills across the energy sector, create and protect well-paid jobs, and support the renewal of coastal communities and industrial regions,” stated Christina McAnea, General Secretary at UNISON.

“Working together under a Fair Work Charter, unions, government and businesses can deliver growth and stronger protection for workers.”

Developing a stable, long-term workforce

The Fair Work Charter comes ahead of the UK’s first-ever Clean Energy Workforce Strategy, which will ensure that clean energy jobs are not only widely available but also high-quality.

However, in some parts of the sector, workers and trade unions have called for more consistency around workplace standards and trade union access to support these roles.

Sue Ferns OBE, Senior Deputy General Secretary at Prospect, said: “Training the clean energy workforce of tomorrow is one of the biggest challenges we face, and it is only fair that renewables developers that rely on this labour contribute to skills programmes.”

Today’s proposals would ensure offshore wind developers are always delivering for the workforce by encouraging them to work in partnership with trade unions to develop stable, long-term jobs.

The measures would be introduced through the Clean Industry Bonus, which provides offshore wind developers with funding on the condition that they build new factories in deprived regions or invest in more sustainable supply chains to drive economic growth.

Turbocharging onshore wind development

The consultation will also seek views on the introduction of onshore wind into the Clean Industry Bonus to help turbocharge its deployment in the UK after years of stagnation due to the de facto ban under the previous government.

This follows the government’s launch of the first-ever onshore wind strategy earlier this year, and will get the country building again, as the sector is estimated to support up to 45,000 jobs in Great Britain by 2030.