Free places for up 400 north east oil and gas workers who want to retrain for the renewable energy sector have been made available thanks to a new funding package.
Safety training business RelyOn Nutec has been awarded £400,000 by ETZ Ltd, the not-for-profit company spearheading the region’s shift to net zero energy.
The cash is part of the Scottish Government’s £14.3 million North East Economic Recovery and Skills Fund (NEERSF), which is aimed at helping young people into work, reskilling and up-skilling employees, as well as increasing innovation and business growth.
The support will allow eligible workers who live in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire to update certification or achieve certification for the wind sector free of charge from January-March 2022.
Trades unions have called for training funds that “directly support workers rather than companies”.
It costs in the region of £1,000 for workers to renew their basic oil and gas safety training and up to £2,000 to complete GWO (offshore wind) basic safety and basic technical training.
Individuals securing the fully-funded training with RelyOn Nutec will also have two years’ access to the training firm’s e-learning library, open days with key organisations offering real employment opportunities, and a personal profile on RelyOn’s digital system, which is accessed by the firm’s client base to source fully certified personnel.
Over 50 years of North Sea skills to draw on
RelyOn Nutec (UK) managing director, Bob Donnelly, said: “We are already supporting the highly skilled and experienced Scottish oil and gas workforce to transition their skills into the renewables sector by delivering GWO training at our UK centres in Aberdeen and Teesside.
“It is essential that we as a region, do everything that we can to hold onto the unrivalled skills base which has over 50 years knowledge to draw on.
“Receiving this funding will allow us to offer additional training to those that need it the most, those people who have decades of skills who are struggling to find work in the difficult market conditions and need to renew their safety certification, and those who don’t have the means to commit to retrain for the renewables sector.
“As a business, we ensure the safety of people working in these industries, and help to save lives, and this funding will also allow us to help people to get back into work and help the region to retain its skilled workforce.”
Andy Rodden, ETZ’s offshore renewables director, said: “For almost 50 years this region made a massive contribution to the UK’s energy requirements and, in doing so, has sustained thousands of jobs in and across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
“ETZ Ltd has a clear focus on harnessing the highly skilled workforce across the region to ensure we maximise the massive opportunities that energy transition provides.
“RelyOn Nutec are a first-class organisation, and this funding will ensure workers across the north east are offered the very best in training and support as they further their careers.”
ETZ was launched earlier this year to deliver the Energy Transition Zone – earmarked for an area of about 173 acres on the south side of Aberdeen.
The company also announced that it would establish the National Energy Skills Accelerator (NESA) as part of the zone, with the aim of providing a “one stop shop” for industry to access courses, skills development programmes and R&D capabilities to train workers for the energy transition.
For more information on free training, see https://relyonnutec.com/support/energytransition/