Tag Archives: Scotland Energy Jobs

Alex Salmond trip in bid to forge Norway energy link

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The Scottish first minister is to travel to Norway this week in a bid to forge closer links over green energy.

Alex Salmond said his visit would also focus on creating new oil and gas jobs and within the fishing industries.

Norway is Scotland’s sixth biggest export market, with Scottish exports to the country totalling £815m.

Mr Salmond will be the keynote speaker at a renewable energy conference in Bergen, hosted by Norwegian employers federation Norsk Industri.

He is expected to tell delegates about Scotland’s “renewables revolution”, as the country aims to reach a target of generating the equivalent of 100% of domestic electricity demand from renewable sources by 2020, while continuing as a net exporter of power.

‘Shared interest’

Speaking ahead of the visit, the first minister said: “Scotland has strong historical, cultural and economic ties to Norway and it has become an increasingly important trading partner over the last four years, rising from our 10th largest export market in 2007 to sixth in 2010.

“At the same time, more than 130 Norwegian companies are operating around 280 subsidiaries in Scotland, with Aker Solutions and Marine Harvest among the major inward investors I will be meeting, to discuss their plans, this week.

“Clearly, our two nations have a shared interest in the energy industry - both in the oil and gas and renewables sectors – as well as in the aquaculture industry, and these are the focus of my engagements in Bergen and Oslo.”

Anne MacColl, chief executive of industry body Scottish Development International, said: “Scotland and Norway have strong historical links, which have been cemented by shared expertise and success in areas such as oil and gas and renewables, as well as the seafood industry.

“This visit will play a critical role in ensuring we fully exploit this potential, and position Scotland firmly as an ideal place with which to do business.”

Green energy ‘should be promoted as career’

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Promoting Green Energy Careers in Scotland

SCOTLAND will not have the skilled workforce it needs to meet renewable energy targets for 2020 unless it is promoted as a worthwhile  career, education experts have warned.

MSPs on Holyrood’s energy committee were told attempts to attract workers to the industry were being hampered by mixed messages in the media, a lack of promotion of the career path in schools, cuts to college funding and courses that did not equip people with the skills they needed.

The Scottish Government aims to generate the equivalent of 100 per cent of electricity demand from renewable sources by 2020 by developing offshore wind and tidal energy.

Giving evidence to the committee as part of its inquiry into the target, Linda Greig, director of business and sponsorship at Carnegie College, said colleges did not have enough awareness of the kind of energy jobs available in the renewables industry, which was not being seen as an “attractive” career path.

Creating Energy Jobs is essential for the future

“Trying to get the throughput from schools is tremendously difficult,” she said. “We are not seeing enough women coming into engineering. It is still seen as a ‘dirty trade’.

“We’ve got a real job to try and influence parents.”

Turning to the courses on offer, Ms Greig referred to recent comments by Dr Peter Hughes, chief executive of Scottish Engineering, who described some of them as “Mickey Mouse”.

She said: “He is absolutely right. In order to deliver the kind of quality programmes we are talking about, that allow young people to be in an industrial environment, see employers coming in, you need the venue, you need the resource, the kit, the staff.

“It is very, very expensive. I think there are only a few centres that can deliver that kind of programme.”

Source: http://www.scotsman.com/news/green-energy-should-be-promoted-as-career-1-2200846#

Highland training academy could create 1000s of jobs

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A new training academy to be created at a mothballed fabrication yard will help to create thousands of jobs in the Highlands.

The Nigg Skills Academy (NSA) will deliver training for up to 3000 people over the next three years, for a range of  energy jobs from engineers to project managers.

The new facility, established with more than £900,0000 of public funding, was officially opened by First Minister Alex Salmond on Friday.

It is established at the Nigg Energy Park in Easter Ross, which was bought by the Global Energy Group (GEG) in October last year.

Highlands & Islands Enterprise has already committed £1.8m for developing the 240-acre site on the Cromarty Firth, which could hold up to 2000 employees within four years.

The NSA will operate as a 12-month pilot and hopes to start 290 modern apprenticeships in its first year.

The First Minister said: “Nigg has one of the world’s largest dry docks and its workforce has been responsible for some of the biggest energy-related structures ever built, so it is well positioned to host the Skills Academy pilot.

“With some one trillion pounds of oil & gas reserves remaining and huge export opportunities for supply chain companies, Scotland’s offshore energy sector remains vibrant, while our burgeoning renewables sector is set to reindustrialise communities across Scotland.

“Clearly the energy industry needs continued access to world-class talent to meet Scotland’s global energy ambitions and Nigg Skills Academy is a perfect example of how the public and private sector can work together quickly and decisively to deliver just that.”

The NSA has already received more than 800 applications since adverts were put out last month.

Roy MacGregor, GEG, chairman, said: “There is recognition within the wider energy industry of the need for additional skilled labour if we are to meet the demands of both oil & gas and the emerging renewables industry over this next three to five years.

“A lot of discussion has taken place around the skills agenda, and I am delighted, following our purchase of Nigg Energy Park, to have entered into early dialogue with the various public sector bodies.

“They were able to move quickly in their understanding of the critical skills issues facing the industry if it is to grow and look to attract inward investment into the area.”