Government ‘Jobs Bonus’ could deliver 10,000 wind manufacturing jobs in areas experiencing oil and gas decline

 Policy could establish an offshore wind manufacturing industry to support workers if the government takes necessary action.

• A new report, Clean Energy Made in the UK, outlines how a ‘Jobs Bonus’ could boost permanent employment in UK industrial heartlands, particularly Scotland. 

• The UK faces a huge opportunity to establish a wind manufacturing sector, where most jobs in offshore wind are concentrated. 

• A properly resourced ‘Jobs Bonus’ could mean that up to 50% of the content in the offshore wind pipeline is produced in the UK. 

• The government must act to ensure the UK’s clean energy mission creates these good quality jobs and supports oil and gas workers to transition.
   

The UK is presented with an enormous opportunity to establish a thriving domestic wind manufacturing industry, as the country transitions to clean energy, according to a new report, Clean Energy Made in the UK, by Uplift and Transition Economics. 

The research, conducted by Transition Economics, shows how a ‘Jobs Bonus’ can be designed to ensure the government’s clean energy mission creates good quality, permanent jobs and is delivered by workers in industrial heartlands - like Scottish oil and gas communities and the North East of England. 

An intervention by the government could create 10,000 permanent renewable energy jobs and up to 13,300 indirect jobs in areas that are experiencing decline, supporting oil and gas workers to transition into new industries. 

Successive governments have failed to grasp this enormous opportunity, despite jobs in the oil and gas industry having halved over the past decade as North Sea reserves have declined. 

The UK’s 50 wind farms currently account for more than a fifth of global offshore wind capacity -  but a typical North Sea turbine contains three times as much material from abroad than the UK. 

A properly resourced Jobs Bonus could mean that up to 50% of the manufacturing content in the offshore wind pipeline could be produced in the UK, supplied by 30 new or upgraded manufacturing facilities. 

The report proposes a package of measures - administered through the Contracts for Difference Regulations and in conjunction with other national policies - that focus on job quality, job creation in key locations and clear pathways for oil and gas workers to transition. 

Iona Macdonald, former oil and gas worker from Aberdeen, commented: 

“We mustn’t pass up this opportunity to support the oil and gas workforce into clean energy, particularly when we have all we need to be incredibly successful at it. 

‍“Here in Aberdeen, for instance, we understand research, development, innovation, engineering, materials integrity, logistics, planning, maintenance and manufacturing. All this knowledge, skills and experience is just waiting to be put into action. We have all the building blocks, we just need the government to help us build the UK’s clean energy future.”

Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift commented:
“Despite the oil and gas industry experiencing decline for a decade, previous governments have failed to deliver on promises to create good quality renewables jobs for the UK’s energy workforce. The UK, in particular in Scotland, is blessed with abundant wind resources and has led the world in the rollout of renewable energy, but – so far – much of the benefit has gone to overseas companies and investors.  

‍"As this UK government accelerates the clean energy transition, with the opportunity to build out six times our current installed capacity in the next 15 years, now is the time to firmly establish offshore wind manufacturing capacity in Scotland and across the UK, build UK supply chains and ensure that the government’s clean energy mission delivers for the workers and regions that need it.

“Put simply, if we want more of the new wind turbines that will power this country to be built in this country, then the government has to get involved now. The UK’s energy transition must be made at home, by and for our energy workforce.”

Ruby Earle, Just Transition Campaigner at Platform said:

“Industry bosses have failed to deliver a just energy transition. Instead of much needed job creation or investment in tried and tested renewables, energy companies continue to prioritise shareholder profits and false solutions.

The new Government must create permanent jobs in the renewables industry and vital supply chains of the future. But this can’t just be another case of governments funnelling public money into private pockets, with little to no accountability. With the right structure and funding, the British Jobs Bonus can help create well-paid, long-term and unionised jobs located in the communities that need them, and build secure pathways for workers to transition quickly. Anything less will continue to risk the lives and livelihoods of North Sea workers, communities, and the plane

Download the full report here

‍