Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) and RenewableUK, supported by the UK and Scottish governments is launching the first stage of a programme to help workers move around the UK’s energy mix, including oil and gas and offshore wind.

The Energy Skills Passport website is a tool which will enable workers to easily identify which qualifications, such as technical and safety standards, are needed for specific roles in oil and gas and offshore wind, as well as mapping out potential future career pathways within the energy sector.

The initial version of the website will be tested by a group of workers so that they can provide feedback before the full version becomes available later this year, and users will be able to create personal accounts listing their qualifications, and then select from a limited number of offshore wind roles, such as turbine maintenance technician. The tool will provide details of the training needed to fulfil these specific roles. As part of the next phase, it is intended that more roles will be added to encompass the wide range of jobs available across the energy industry.

The passport tool is part of a range of measures developed by industry and Government to support the UK offshore energy workforce to understand and plan for expanded homegrown energy production. It is expected that the passport will also evolve as the UK’s energy production profile changes, with more information on training courses and the availability of jobs to be added as the sector expands.

RenewableUK's executive director of offshore wind Jane Cooper said: “More than a hundred thousand people will be working in the UK’s offshore wind industry by 2030, mostly in highly skilled roles. To grow our world-class industry as fast as possible, we need the valuable experience that oil and gas workers can bring . The Energy Skills Passport which we’re launching today with our OEUK colleagues offers a gateway for people to make this transition by helping them to identify which offshore wind roles which would suit them best, and setting out in detail the training they will need to secure these new job opportunities.”

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