With such a diverse range of renewables technologies, and companies willing to exploit them – from tiny starft-ups to the major utilities – it’s not surprising that a wide range of skills are required in the renewables industry. The skills you will need will also depend on whether you want to work in development, manufacturing and construction, operations, or in specialist work.

 

Technical and engineeering skills are obviously in demand by manufacturers and installation/maintenance contractors. This will include civil, mechanical and electrical engineering, as well as software and process control. Although renewable energy plant is not as technically advanced as larger thermal plant such as combined cycle technology, this may change in the future as commercial pressures will cause manufacturers to invest in efficiency savings, particularly as more marginal projects and technologies come forward. Similar skills will be needed in the installation and maintenance of this plant.

 

On the business side, project development and management skills are also important in an industry that is developing rapidly and which needs to focus on exploiting new business opportunities and technology applications. The range of skills needed will include financial appraisal and management, business planning, project management, commercial/legal skills and marketing

 

As the specific technologies develop, they will give rise to demand for specialist skills – offshore wind, wave and tidal projects will need those able to master marine offshore technology challenges, for example, while the growth of biofuels will create demand for those with professional agricultural, environmental and planning qualifications.

 

Lastly, as the industry evolves, general management skills will be increasingly valued, involving financial management, company administration, sales and services, - in fact all normal company services.

 

Shortage Areas

 

Anticipating the growth in the industry, both the government and specific trade associations have been studying constraints that could prevent the full exploitation of market opportunities. One of the key areas they have considered are skill shortages.

 

One of the main problem areas is the general shortage of engineers, particularly those with electrical/electronic skills, both at the professional and technician levels. This is, however, not a factor specific to the renewable energy industry, with the number of students accepting places on electrical engineering degrees having fallen by almost 30% over the last decade, reflecting the low appeal of the engineering profession.

 

Similar recruitment problems were identified in related technical fields such as the design and manufacture of composites, geophysics and specialist fabrication, together with less technical areas such as the management of energy crops and project installation and commissioning.Surprisingly, general and project management was also seen as a shortage area, although this may partly reflect the current abundance of projects under development and the relative immaturity of the industry.

 

These studies have concluded that although many of the skills needed can be transferred from other more developed technologies, such as the oil and gas industry or the traditional power generation industry, this may be limited either by the number of people involved and the age profile of many of the experienced staff in these fields.

 

Gaining Qualifications

 

These shortages can be overcome by encouraging new entrants to take relevant courses leading to recognised qualifications. Of course, it's a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation - people will only invest in the appropriate training if they can see there is a rewarding and lucrative career ahead.

 

If you are interested in following a course of study, visit our webpage on          

courses.

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