The Dutch Wind Energy Association (NWEA), offshore energy education institute DOB-Academy and international leading recruitment company Atlas Professionals have teamed up on an initiative to promote careers at the offshore wind sector to adolescents and, subsequently, fill the upcoming human capital gap on Netherlands’ offshore wind sector.
The initiative, called ‘Renewables Roadshow’, seeks to support a substantial growth of the pool of qualified professionals, needed to realize the development of offshore wind parks in the country.
Connecting young people with the number one sustainable source of electricity of the future; that is the Renewables Roadshow. It’s a chance to present the enormous opportunities the wind sector has to offer to them. Because joining the wind industry means becoming part of one of the fastest growing sustainable sectors. As renewable energy is relatively new, not everyone can grasp the extent of the transition and the career opportunities it offers. The Roadshow is a way to bridge this gap,
… says Bastiaan Vader, Industry Specialist Human Capital at NWEA.
The companies Offshore wind plays a crucial role in the energy transition. Recent research suggests that over 2500 professionals are needed in the next five years to build offshore wind parks in the Netherlands.
Re-skilling workers from the Oil & Gas industry is part of the short-term solution to fill the upcoming human capital gap. Engaging the next generation from a young age to work in the Renewables industry is a long-term one, according to Joost Pellis, Strategic Manager Renewables & Marine at Atlas Professionals.
With notoriously higher rates than the wind sector, we are already noticing that oil & gas professionals are returning to the sector as their activities increase. We need to prepare other solutions, such as this Renewables Roadshow, to get increased awareness of the Renewables career opportunities among young people. We want adolescents pursuing a technical career to realize that they can also pursue a career in offshore wind,
…says Pellis.
Depending on the time available, the schools can pick and mix between a fixed set of activities and presentations. One of them is the frequently played Rotor Game, a proven practical case, by Delft based DOB-Academy.
The rotor game is a popular feature in our Introduction to Offshore Wind Course. It not only gives a good insight of how a wind turbine generates power, it enables participants to come up with their own rotor design. Besides that, it is always fun to see if your own creation actually works! When visiting schools, we also see that it attracts a lot of students for that reason,
…Hendrik Goos from DOB-Academy says.
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