Equinor - Supporting the Supply Chain to Stimulate Skills Development
Tom Nightingale from Equinor explains the importance of bringing skills and education to the forefront of the supply chain.
Skills development is of vital importance for our industry, with nearly 100,000 people expected to be employed in offshore wind in the UK by 2030.
Equinor is proud to be working with our partners to stimulate the development of the North East England offshore wind workforce - the talent pipeline of tomorrow truly is at the heart of our community investment for Dogger Bank.
Equinor is recognised as a Cornerstone Employer, working with the North East Careers Hub to support education at scale in the region. I sit as a member of the North East Ambition advisory group, putting skills at the heart of Equinor’s activities in North East England.
By working with local authorities, skills providers and community groups across the region, we can help to build a diverse, capable workforce of the future to deliver on our offshore wind ambitions.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm recently held a successful ‘Meet the Buyer’ supply chain event where North East Ambition hosted a stand to showcase opportunities to engage with education and highlight available business support. This was a really good chance to build on the network of employers from our industry engaging with skills and supporting schools and young people.
We were delighted that the event led to two new Enterprise Advisers joining the North East LEP careers network, and four businesses being referred to the North East Growth Hub for business support.
By building links between the offshore wind supply chain and their future talent pipeline, we can actively promote opportunities such as apprenticeships and build diversity in the workforce.
Equinor has launched a new Apprenticeship Levy transfer to support the ongoing development of the North East England offshore wind workforce, with a particular emphasis on local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and companies that are diversifying into the offshore wind industry. It is important that we work towards increasing apprenticeship uptake and build the quality and diversity of applicants.
The UK Apprenticeship Levy was introduced in 2017 to help businesses offer more sustainable apprenticeship programmes and training opportunities. Levy-paying companies can transfer some of their levy funds to other non-levy paying organisations, with the aim of supporting smaller businesses’ training needs.
Apprenticeships facilitated by Equinor’s North East Apprenticeship Levy transfer will be delivered in collaboration with the Newcastle College Group (NCG) Energy Academy and the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
The North East is leading the UK in offshore wind development. By working with our regional partners, we can stimulate the skills development in our supply chain which will help us to address future skills shortages, support our young people, and engage with our local community.