Dutch Commission Report on Offshore Wind Employment Needs

International recruitment company Atlas Professionals has won a tender to produce an in-depth report for the Topsector Energy about employment opportunities in the Dutch offshore wind industry. 

Atlas was commissioned by Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO.nl) / Netherlands Enterprise Agency on behalf of TKI Wind op Zee (Top consortium for Knowledge and Innovation Offshore Wind). Atlas has already started its research and will issue its findings in March, 2019.

The Dutch government has committed to building five offshore wind farms of 700MW each by 2023 and adding at least 1000MW per year during the period 2023 – 2030. That would bring the country’s total operating capacity to 11.5GW by 2030.

However, even though the country’s wind industry is growing exponentially, it is not clear what the potential of the wind industry in the Netherlands with regard to employment will be in the years ahead, the kind of skills and competencies the industry will require, or even the number of personnel will be needed, Atlas said.

Any shortages in this area could have a devastating impact on the future of wind power, with possibly dramatic consequences for the fight against climate change.

“This is an exciting time for the Dutch wind industry. Yet, in recruitment terms, wind is a young and uncharted sector,” Joost Pellis, Strategic Manager Renewables at Atlas Professionals, said.

”To ensure that it can continue to operate at optimum levels, real insight is needed into the necessary recruitment numbers and the skills and training programmes that will be required in the Netherlands. The industry must be properly prepared for the future and able to find solutions to potential recruitment problems before they occur. That is why this research is so important, it will provide a ‘road map’ for employment in the offshore wind industry as we head towards 2023 and then on to 2030.”

TKI Wind op Zee and RVO have installed an advisory board for this project representing vocational education institutes and the industry.

John Baken, on behalf of Wind op Zee says: “The study will contribute towards providing detailed insights into the need for personnel now and in the near future. Current estimates have a wide range of variety; the study will build on this by estimating the amount of personnel required and their competences at various levels. Our goal is to provide guidelines for schools and other educational bodies, to enable the organisation of courses in a targeted manner.”

To carry out the study, Atlas is conducting interviews with key industry experts and contacts from companies involved in the different phases of building offshore wind farms in the Netherlands. The selection of interviewees has been done in cooperation with the advisory board. On top of this, other organisations with links to the Dutch wind industry, such as educational institutes and governmental bodies will be involved.