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Tender Ref: HCUK/ESF/2017.SD08

Skills Support for the WorkforceSkills Gap Report

Report Detailing Employer Skills Requirements up to 2022

Sector: Renewable Technology, Green Energy and Chemicals

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Index

Background...........................................................................................................................3

Market Intelligence.................................................................................................................5

Introduction........................................................................................................................5

Industrial Context...............................................................................................................5

SME Skills and Networking Groups.....................................................................................12

Summary of Findings...........................................................................................................15

Skills Requirement Report Findings and Recommendations...............................................16

Legacy.................................................................................................................................36

References and Contributors to the Report.........................................................................38

1 | P a g e SSW Skills Gap Report: Renewable Technology, Green Energy and Chemicals

Key Contacts

Skills Requirement Sector * Renewable Technology, Green Energy and Chemicals

Company/Organisation conducting the research

HCF CATCH Ltd (trading as CATCH)

Key Contact for The Project

Name/Email/Telephone

David Talbot

[email protected]

01469 552 822 or 07581008385

Report Produced by David Talbot

Company/Organisation Address

HCF CATCH LtdRedwood Park EstateKiln LaneStallingboroughDN41 8TH

Company/Organisation Tel Number

01469 552828

Company/Organisation Key Contact Email Address

[email protected]

Any Other Contact Information

[email protected]

*1 submission is required per sector if you represent multiple sectors.


mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Background

This report was prepared by HCF CATCH Ltd t/a CATCH in support of the Skills Support for the Workforce (SSW) project for the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

CATCH was established in 1999 as the Humber Chemical Focus, supporting the £6bn Humber chemical industry in the Humber region. It is a public / private sector partnership between the Humber local authorities and industry, and now supports the chemical, energy and allied industries (including renewables). Through an industry-led Board of Directors, and 47 Member companies, CATCH has established a wide range of industry-led networks and engagement activities with the sector and its supply chain. Through the Contractor Competency scheme, CATCH also has connection to over 300 supply chain companies supporting the chemical process, and energy sectors, most of which are of small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) status. A full list of CATCH core-Member companies can be found at http://www.catchuk.org/members/become-a-member/ .

CATCH has been involved in skills surveys and research since its inception. The outcome of elements of this research led directly to the CATCH Training Centre being established in 2006, to serve the industrial skills and competence development needs of the chemical and allied sectors in the Humber. CATCH is recognised for its unique realistic industrial training environment providing technical and engineering training for apprentices, unemployed and employed adults. It is also a focal point for CATCH’s networking services, and hub for the sector’s school liaison, recruitment, induction and skills development activities.

The Humber LEP first established chemicals as one of the region’s key sectors in 2011 and has ensured representation from the sector at all levels throughout the organisation. The Chair of CATCH sits on the Humber LEP Board, and staff sit on the Business Development and Employment & Skills Boards.

For the purposes of this report, and the work undertaken for the SSW project, CATCH has assumed a wide definition for the chemical sector. Experience has shown that the phrase chemical sector is too narrow and CATCH has, for some years, referred to the sector as the process industry. This definition encompasses the variety of manufacturing businesses that CATCH represents, and this has evolved further to include the engineering supply chain businesses to the sector. This study encompasses the process and green energy / renewables’ sector including the newly established biofuel and biomass processing sector and so the sectors referred to in this study could be identified as the energy and high energy using industries.

The renewables sector has been dominated by offshore wind developments in the Humber region, but this study also covers the biofuels / bioprocessing sector and it is important to identify that all renewables industries have very similar skills requirements and similar hazards and safety standards.

The methodology behind the development of this report has stemmed from the following activity / research:


CATCH networks, conferences and events.

o Skills and Competency industry-led network group.

o Science Industry Apprenticeship Consortium.

o Engineering Managers’ industry-led network group.

o HR Managers’ industry-led network group.

The CATCH Contractor Competency Scheme.

o 21 client companies.

o Over 300 contracting companies.

o Meetings / questionnaire.

The Humber High Energy Intensive Industry Cluster Study (HHEIICS).

o Steering group comprising the LEP, Greenport Hull, North Lincolnshire Council and CATCH.

o Delivered by the Carbon Trust.

o Key strategic paper for the region.

The CATCH commissioned and delivered a 2017 Age Profile study into 2,902 roles across the supply-chain within the Humber region.

Engineering Construction Industry Training Body published research.

Chemical Industry Association published research and media releases.

CATCH’s position as Chair of the Humber Energy Campus, a regional group of key stakeholders supporting the development of renewables training within the Humber region.

CATCH’s position as a partner to the University of Hull Project Aura Talent Pipeline work strand, supporting the offshore wind industry.

CATCH’s position as Chair of the Humber Branch of the Energy Institute.

CATCH development of two bespoke SSW sponsored courses:

o Process Course

o Laser Alignment

The importance of the HHEIICS study dated March 2018 cannot be over-emphasised, and for this reason the document is referenced throughout the study. It should be complimentary to this document as the key driver for growth in the high energy industries in the region. A working group has been established to deliver tangible results from the recommendations of the study.


Market Intelligence

Introduction

The SSW programme is “designed to deliver responsive workplace learning courses across the Humber region to meet individual, employer and regional economic needs. By up-skilling the workforce, the SSW and Skills Support for Redundancy (SSR) programmes aim to reduce the risk of long-term unemployment and enhance employee skills and career prospects.” (Source: Humber LEP website)

This section outlines the landscape for the chemical and renewables sectors in relation to SSW. It starts with a broad overview that indicates the size of the market and the potential for the future. Since the last report was commissioned over two years ago there have been some significant changes for the chemicals and renewables sectors. This report identifies some of the more significant changes and projects forward to the future of the Energy Estuary. A great deal of the source material for this section is drawn directly from the HHEIICS.

Industrial Context

Most of the chemical manufacturing companies in the Humber are not SMEs and do not qualify for support under SSW. However, the sector relies heavily on a competent engineering supply chain. This is needed to supply skilled, qualified and competent personnel to complete maintenance activities and provide a range of services to manufacturing sites, performing design and build projects for new equipment and delivering new investment projects.

This study supports and enables the delivery of the SSW programme by defining where interventions need to be focused to meet the need of employers supporting the chemical and renewable industries including green energy, throughout the supply chain. It sets out the challenges facing the SMEs in the sector and how SSW has supported and can further help to address these.

In the latest Chemical Industry Association survey of the level of business confidence of chemical and pharmaceutical businesses (January 18), responders reported strong recent growth in sales and exports. This good news has been reflected in a similar positive outlook for 2018, with the economies of China, Europe and the US all growing simultaneously.

The quarterly survey, which is run by the Chemical Industries Association showed that a balance of +35% of companies grew export sales and a balance of +23% more grew overall sales. A balance is the difference between those companies reporting an increase, minus those reporting a decrease.

Looking ahead, the industry is more optimistic than at the time of the last survey in October 2017, with a balance of +39% of companies seeing growth in overall sales and a balance of +42% expecting growth in exports volume.


Steve Elliott, Chief Executive of the Chemical Industries Association, said, “the chemical industry is in a reasonably optimistic mood, with the economies of China, Europe and the US all growing simultaneously, to the benefit of an export-intensive industry such as ours. However, like many other sectors of the UK economy we are increasingly worried by the ongoing uncertainty with regard to our future relationship with Europe. Minimal disruption to chemicals trade and investment flows would represent a very positive outcome from the negotiations for UK chemical businesses, but there remain many challenges in achieving that outcome”.

Elliott continued, “We do see continued strong growth in capital investment (+32%), and while we have growth in R&D spending (+16%), it has reduced a little since our last survey. There are also reports of jobs growth to help meet growing demand in 2018. Weak sterling and strong European growth are expected to be key drivers for 2018. Expanding markets in Asia and North America are also seen as opportunities in 2018. However, we cannot escape Brexit uncertainty, with 48% of companies reporting this as a worry. The higher oil price and the weak exchange rate have also elevated concerns over rising raw material costs and energy costs - both critical to an energy-intensive manufacturing sector”.

Looking more locally, the Humber has a long-standing reputation as one of the UK’s leading industrial regions. It is one of the four chemicals clusters across the country, is the capital of seafood processing, and has access to its east coast deep-water ports. The Humber’s industries are significant users of energy, and the Humber and neighbouring authorities are major contributors to the UK’s generation capacity, thus supporting the brand for the region as the Energy Estuary. In 2015, the energy intensive industries were estimated to have consumed over 8GWh energy, at a cost of over £300m. The total of all industrial and commercial energy use in the region is 23GWh, costing nearly £1bn. There is over 4.4 GW of installed electrical capacity in the region, the majority powered by fossil fuel.

The Humber petrochemicals / chemicals sector is of European scale and the second largest in the UK, supported by the Humber Ports. The Humber is home to one of the UK’s four main chemical clusters.


Figure 1 – the 4 UK Cluster Groups

Two oil refineries, Phillips66 and Total Lindsey, provide 27% of the UK’s refinery capacity and are located on the South Humber Bank. The area’s chemicals clusters encompass expertise in petrochemical refining, personal care, pigments and colours, agrochemicals, fine chemicals, paint and coatings, surface treatments, specialty chemicals and inorganic and organic commodities. Companies active locally, include Croda, Air Products, BP Chemicals, Nippon Gohsei, BOC (LINDE), BASF, Phillips66, Cristal, Kemira, Knauf, Novartis, Syngenta, Total and Ineos.

The renewables sector has experienced impressive progress in the UK and across the world. The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced that globally, nearly two thirds of net new power capacity introduced in 2016 was derived from renewable technologies. The key technologies within this group are wind and solar, which are predicted to account for over 80% of capacity growth from renewables in the short term and could exceed 25% of total generation in countries that are particularly suited to these technologies.

The situation in the UK is equally encouraging where, one day in June 2017, over 50% of energy demand was met by renewables, a record high. In October 2017, the UK Government announced a further £557m of support for green energy projects and the release of the Clean Growth Strategy outlined further funding commitments to improve manufacturing innovation for offshore wind components. A number of programmes have been identified that Humber-based industries can benefit from, including the Industrial Heat Recovery Support (IHRS) programme, the Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator (IEEA), the Industrial Fuel Switching Market Engagement Study and the Carbon Capture and Usage (CCU) Demonstration Programme. There are a number of initiatives throughout the region led by the four local authorities looking at local green energy opportunities.

The UK already has the largest installed capacity of offshore wind at over 5GW and has the potential to hold this position with a further potential capacity of 25GW by 2030. The Humber contributes to the UK’s leading position for offshore wind both with existing wind


farms and planning additional developments in the North Sea; offshore wind represents the largest share of renewables production in the region. Humber’s offshore wind industry spans almost every stage of wind farm development and operation, including turbine manufacture, assembly, installation and ongoing operation and maintenance through offshore wind servicing facilities.

As of December 2017, 16 wind farms off the Humber coastline were operational, consented, or planned. The Crown Estate announcement in November 2017 that new seabed rights will be made available from 2018 is expected to lead to more offshore wind development in the Humber area, and the region should seek to capitalise upon this.

Race Bank has recently been officially opened, Hornsea 3 and Triton Knoll are currently still in development, while Hornsea 1 & 2 are in construction. The development status of Hornsea 4 is ‘dormant’.

In 2014, Ørsted created an operations and maintenance base at the Port of Grimsby in order to support the construction and operation of their North Sea wind farms, at that time servicing Westermost Rough and Lincolnshire offshore wind farms. This is due to be expanded in 2018 to create the UK’s largest operations and maintenance (O&M) facility. The facility will operate state-of-the-art Service Operational Vessels, designed to service six to eight offshore turbines daily.

In February 2018, Ørsted announced that Siemens Gamesa have been awarded the contract to supply and service the turbines for the Hornsea Project Two, with blades manufactured in Hull.

The Humber region is gaining a reputation for O&M expertise. The Offshore Renewable Energy Science and Innovation Audit carried out in 2017 on behalf of BEIS found that the Humber has the largest concentration of offshore wind O&M supply chain businesses in the North of England and Scotland. Expertise in the region is also set to grow, with the announcement in 2017 of an offshore wind O&M Centre of Excellence (Project Aura) led by the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult and the University of Hull. The partnership will create a roadmap for O&M research and development by joining forces with industry and supply chain stakeholders.

The past decade has seen significant investment in the Humber region. The development of offshore wind in the North Sea has led to some revival in the region’s fortunes and new facilities have taken root in Hull and Grimsby to build and maintain offshore installations. This has stimulated a wider adoption of renewable and clean energy developments, including bioenergy and energy from waste. Existing industries are also investing in expansion, as the Humber holds significant positional strengths that provide global advantages, including several ports, transport connections, energy infrastructure, land availability and low costs.

A growing biofuels and biogas market provides a significant opportunity for the Humber region, which already has strong existing biofuel capability. Anaerobic digestion and energy from waste facilities continue to grow in the region, further stimulating local biofuels


production. Energy Works’ 25MW energy from waste plant in Hull will be the newest addition to this, due to become operational in 2018. Once fully operational, the facility will produce biomethane to inject directly into the grid, as well as synthetic gas to power turbines to generate enough electricity to power 43,000 homes locally.

In terms of solid biofuels, the Drax biomass power station is leading the industry locally. In addition, a factory at Immingham Docks is currently under construction for a new type of biocoal. Carbon neutral biocoal will be produced by heating leftover food and garden waste under pressure to trigger carbonisation, which can be used to substitute traditional charcoal

Drax is the largest and most well-known power station in the wider region, located in Selby just to the west of the Humber region. Having been in operation as a coal-fired plant since the late 1970s, Drax has recently undergone a dramatic change in its fuel mix. Where previously all six of the 645MW units were supplied by coal, three of these have now been converted to use 100% biomass. (Compressed wood pellets), 15% of which is supplied by the Drax Group’s US organisation Drax Biomass. There are plans to convert a fourth unit to biomass in 2018 (as well as converting the remaining two units from coal to gas).

Whilst the power station itself is just outside of the Humber region, two major biomass handling facilities have been constructed in the Humber ports to transport biomass to be used as fuel. Today, the power plant is currently responsible for generating around 7% of the UK’s electricity, including around 17% of its renewable power.

Bioenergy production is also a growing sector within the Humber region, with particular focus on biofuels and biogas. The estuary is home to two large biofuel plants, Greenergy and Vivergo. Greenergy produces biodiesel at its Immingham plant at a capacity of up to 200,000 tonnes per year. Originally designed to process vegetable oils such as soy and rapeseed oil, it is now fed by 100% used cooking oil. The company’s biofuels production contributes to around 25% of biofuels consumed in the UK. The Vivergo Fuels plant is the largest bioethanol producer in the UK and the second largest in Europe, providing the Humber region with local expertise for this technology and paving the way for further development.

Biogas and biomethane is currently produced at several facilities across the region, typically through anaerobic digestion and energy from waste. The Energy Works energy from waste plant will use gasification technology to create synthetic gas which will be burned to generate electricity (up to 25MW) for export to the grid. Anaerobic digestion (AD) technology will also be used to produce biomethane gas, to inject directly into the gas grid for consumption by existing gas appliances. Further AD plants have been proposed in the region but have not received planning permission, including a 5.45MW AD Plant in Leven and a 3.25 MW AD Plant near Beeford.

The Humber region has seen significant investment in new renewable power plants. The 13.5MW EPR Glanford (formerly Glanford Power Station) generates power through using meat and bone meal as a fuel source (Melton Renewable Energy UK PLC). In Brigg, a 40MW straw fired power station completed construction in 2016. This plant consumes


around 250,000 tonnes straw per year, sourced from local farmers. Renewable technologies and fuels used in the region are diverse.

Fig 2 – operational and proposed green energy plants in the Humber region [source HHEIICS]

Some industries have installed their own renewable energy generation including a wind turbine at Croda and anaerobic digestion at Singleton Birch

Case Study: Singleton Birch Anaerobic Digestion

Singleton Birch is the UK’s leading independent lime supplier, an energy intensive producer of quicklime, hydrated lime, natural hydraulic lime, graded chalk, aggregates and other specialist products and services. The North Lincolnshire-based company has been operating in the lime and quarrying sector for over 200 years, and over the past decade has been exploring alternative energy and fuels, to lead the way in decarbonising energy intensive industrial processes.

In 2014, spin-off Birch Energy was created, alongside the construction of Singleton Birch’s first on-site anaerobic digestion plant. Birch Energy designed, constructed and operates the 2MW anaerobic digester on an ongoing basis. As well as providing energy to the site and reutilising maize, sugarbeet and pig slurry waste products, the plant has been presented as an example to other energy intensive industries globally as an example to follow for decarbonisation.

Whilst it currently generates over 92% of its total electricity use through renewable low carbon sources, Singleton Birch has set its sights on even higher ambitions. The company is currently developing a proposal to build a waste to energy plant, using non-recyclable waste from across North Lincolnshire as a fuel source.


Several companies in the region have investigated the installation of wind turbines, but some plans have been shelved due to long payback times, declined planning permission, or wildlife protection concerns


SME Skills and Networking Groups

Against the backdrop of the industrial landscape within the region, as identified earlier in the report, the Humber also benefits from strong Further and Higher Education support, local training organisations, membership organisations and research through the University of Hull. A LEP led federation of through-life training providers has formed the Humber Energy Campus, a virtual organisation designed to provide support to industry and the region in signposting opportunities for through-life development opportunities.

CATCH in an industry-led non-profit organisation that undertakes networking, conferences and events for the process, engineering and energy (including renewables) sectors. CATCH runs 10 network groups and the Board comprises 17 leaders from industry, local authorities and academia.

Fig 3 – CATCH Network Groups

CATCH Knowledge Exchange is a capability that is derived from the sum of the information gleaned from the network groups, regional and national bodies that CATCH works with and supports, which include:

CATCH networking and events.


Humber LEP: Main, Skills and Business Development Boards.

GLLEP: Manufacturing Board.

Northern Chemical Clusters Group.

Chemical Growth Partnership: Supply Chain Working Group.

Humber High Energy Intensive Industry Cluster Study working group.

Grimsby Renewable Partnership.

North East Lincs Development and Growth Board.

Humber UTC sponsor company.

Humber Energy Campus.

The CATCH Skills and Competency Network and the Science Industry Apprenticeship Consortium provide the key background information to understand the skills landscape against the industrial backdrop. Added to this, the Concom forum is the main source of information for SME needs within the region. The forum, which was set up in 1998 and meets monthly, supports 20 client companies and around 250 contractor organisations from across the region and nationally. The meetings are minuted and attended by client and contractor representatives. The forum has seen a very strong relationship develop between contractor and client. The chemical clients rely heavily on the quality and availability of a skilled engineering workforce.

The Skills & Competency forum was running before CATCH took it on in 1999 and meets quarterly. The meetings are well attended, mostly by large employers from the Humber Bank process industries. The discussions are generally around competency assurance of the clients’ workforce and the contractors through the supply chain. These businesses support the large clients during their maintenance mechanical engineering overhauls. Skills gaps and shortages are identified, and strategies are developed through collaboration across the network. Recently, conversations have moved on to include the use of the Apprenticeship Levy and through-life development opportunities.

The CATCH Board comprises directors who are from a senior level in business, local authorities and academia from across the region. This ensures that the Board has direct experience and knowledge of the skills gaps the sector has experienced and continues to address the needs of the sector at the right level. The mix of industry, local authorities and academia ensures that wide ranging and holistic conversations are held – the aim of the Board is to ensure that tangible results ensue from the conversations – and this is being addressed.


Figure 4 – The CATCH Board Member Organisations


Summary of Findings

Distilling all the information gleaned from the networking, events, conferences and stakeholder engagement within the region has enabled CATCH to work up a clear picture of industry and its needs in terms of through-life skills development. A key message from industry is around the critical nature of competency development and assurance, as training an individual to do a job is only part of the process. Ensuring organisations and individuals are safe and competent is the overriding priority. The CATCH delivered Contractor Competency scheme across the Humber region is seen as an important step in assuring the organizational competency and that the ECITB Connected Competency scheme with its three-year cycle of training interventions supports the individual.

This report has looked at the national and regional landscape for the renewables and chemicals sectors and then narrowed this in on the Humber region. It has then looked at the skills needs for the sectors, identifying the engineering and specialist skills required. It has been identified that engineering construction and mechanical and electrical / instrumentation skills are required across the sectors and, through the age profile survey for the Cocom community, it is evident that up to 30% of the workforce is over the age of 55 in certain trades.

A number of reports have been drawn upon in order to understand the skills picture and narratives have been extracted from these reports to paint the full picture; these reports have been referenced.

With all the information gleaned from the networking and the plethora of reports, it is essential that a coordinated approach is taken across the region to capitalize on the opportunities and the needs of employers.


Skills Requirement Report Findings and Recommendations

CATCH undertook an Age Profile study in 2017 of the Humber Bank industrial workforce. The study was undertaken through the membership of the Contractor Competency scheme, and thus included client and contractor companies. Overall, data for almost 3,000 positions were analysed as part of the study and the key results are detailed below.

Trades and job roles surveyed were:

Civil Engineering

o Site Manager

o Supervisor

o Foreman

o Chargehand

o Field Operative

o Plant Operative

Mechanical

o Site/Project Manager

o Supervisor

o Chargehand (multi-skilled technicians)

o Pipefitting

o Plating

o Mechanical Fitting

o Mechanical Maintenance

o Welding Pipe/Plate

o Steel Erecting

o Construction Steelwork

Electrical and Instrumentation

o Site/Project Manager

o Supervisor

o Technician (Elec and Ins)

o Chargehand

o Approved Electrician


o Electrician

Scaffolding

o Site Manager

o Supervisor

o Foreman

o Chargehand

o Advanced Scaffolder

o Scaffolder

o Trainee Scaffolder

o Scaffolding Labourer

o Scaffold Inspector

Other Trades

o Crane Drivers

o Insulators

o Demolition Contractors

Engineering Disciplines

o Process Engineer

o CAD Design

o Project Controls

o I C Engineer

o Structural Design Engineer

o Piping Design Engineer

o Welding Engineer

o QA / QC

o QS

o Cost Engineer

Other Disciplines

o Health and Safety Advisor

o Document Control


Figure 5 shows the percentage of the surveyed workforce over the age of 55. On average, over 21% of the workforce surveyed was over the age of 55. It is at this age that succession planning becomes critical, especially for key trades.

Civil's

Mechanical

Electrical & Instrumentation

Scaffolding

Others Trades

Engineering disciplines

Other Discipline

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Percentage of workforce over 55

Fig 5 – Percentage of workforce surveyed over 55

Figure 6 below shows the spread of ages across the workforce. It should be noted that the smallest segment is in the age 16-19 and the largest is for the 60+ age group. While this would appear to be of serious concern, it should be noted that often under 18 year old employees are not allowed to work on clients’ sites.

Total no of technical staff by age

16-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60+

Fig 6 – total number of technical staff by age


The final sets of graphs show the age disposition by trade / discipline. While they do, at first glance, identify that the distribution of employees by age is about correct, if not slightly biased to the right, they do identify that it is imperative that the pipeline is maintained to ensure there are no gaps in capability in the future. Drilling down into certain trades and roles there are some cliff edges such as 30% of mechanical trades people are 55 and over.

Fig 7 – civil engineering age profile

Fig 8 – scaffolding age profile


16-1920-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-59

60+

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Civil Engineering

16-19

20-24

25-29

30-34

35-39

40-44

45-49

50-54

55-59

60+

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Scaffolding

Fig 9 – electrical and instrumentation age profile

Fig 10 – mechanical trades age profile


16-19

20-24

25-29

30-34

35-39

40-44

45-49

50-54

55-59

60+

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Mechanical Trades

16-1920-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-59

60+

0 5 10 15 20 25

Electrical and Instrumentation

Fig 11 – engineering disciplines age profile

Turning to the offshore wind industry, a report commissioned by the Aura team at the University of Hull estimated that by 2032 there will be in the region of 21,000 FTE jobs in the UK. Indirect employment related to the industry could result in a further 37,000 FTE jobs. It is thought that the largest growth could be in Humber region where large sites, far from shore, will be built using Service Operation Vessels (SOVs). This means that technicians will spend much longer offshore and the opportunities for training may reduce as a result of this and will take place during the on-shore days, which may not necessarily be near to the place of work due to the transitory nature of the staff and the long nature of the time away and time at home, i.e. the workforce can live further away from their work location than for the majority of roles; this is similar to the oil and gas sector.

Figure 12 below identifies where the growth in jobs is expected to come from and Figure 13 breaks that growth down into role types.


16-19

20-24

25-29

30-34

35-39

40-44

45-49

50-54

55-59

60+

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Engineering disciplines

Fig 12 – Projected direct FTE jobs by region in the offshore wind sector [source – Project Aura report]

Fig 13 – Projected indirect jobs by industry group [source – Project Aura report]

Anecdotally, it is often stated that the offshore industry is not unlike other industrial sectors in that it will still require the same skills, it is just the environment that differs and is more extreme. Therefore, there will be a demand on electrical, mechanical and fabrication trades people, but they will also have to undertake sector specific training (akin to the offshore platforms), such as the five Global Wind Organisation mandatory courses:

Manual handling

Fire safety

Work at height and rescue

Sea survival

First aid

Project Aura identified the following activities in the asset lifecycle within the offshore wind energy sector:


Site planning and development refers to all activities that relate to the planning and development of offshore wind energy sites.

Manufacturing and design covers activities that relate directly to the design and manufacture of offshore wind energy components. It excludes the manufacture of generic components (which would be classified as an indirect economic activity).

Construction refers to the construction of civil / maritime industry-specific components of offshore wind farms, including balance of plant (but excluding general infrastructure, such as roads leading to sites).

Installation, covering the installation of offshore wind turbines and electrical components of devices specific to balance of plant.

Operations and maintenance, covering activities related to the operation and running of offshore wind sites, as well as servicing of devices on those sites, electrical components and balance of plant.

Specialist transport covers transport activities that relate specifically to transport of employees and components to and from offshore wind sites, possibly requiring specialist transport equipment to specifically service sites.

Decommissioning/ recommissioning concerns offshore wind energy sites that have reached the end of their operational life and are either dismantled or repowered.

Specialist support services and other covers the wide range of offshore wind energy-specific activities not covered by any of the above.

Linked to the activities detailed above, Project Aura has drawn out a number of key skills that will link to identifying where the skills / training needs are:

Skill area Specific details

Asset management Specifically, environmental asset management

Compliance and engineering

Project management Ability to handle contracts worth £100millions+

Leadership The ability to manage and organise teams

Developing the leaders of the future from the technical workforce (i.e. upskilling)

Engineers

Across a range of relevant disciplines, including mechanical, electrical and control & instrumentation and high voltage

Including IT and associated network skills, enabling fault-finding through electronic means (e.g. assessing data on a laptop) rather than the more traditional, hands-on, mechanic approach.


Skill area Specific details

Scientists Environmental and physical sciences – e.g. marine

biology, geophysics, physics, environmental monitoring, oceanography.

Technicians

Particularly relating to blade and turbine maintenance (this issue is not helped by a lack of common standards across technology manufacturers)

High voltage technicians

Health & safety

Advanced first aid and rescue - The types of injuries that can occur, and the required first aid response, can often be similar to those seen in mountain rescue-type situations.

Safety rules and regulations – regularly updated/ refreshed

Soft skills Team working; team living, problem solving, etc.

From these skills areas a pipeline of apprenticeship training needs and associated providers within a 50-mile radius of Hull has been identified.

Overall, 62 separate Apprenticeship frameworks / standards have been identified as being relevant to the offshore wind industry:

13 at Level 2

29 at Level 3

9 at Level 4

2 at Level 5

7 at Level 6

2 at Level 7

Level 2

Apprenticeship Name of training provider

Construction Civil Engineering: Steelfixing There are no training providers listed for this Apprenticeship within 50 miles of Hull.

I.V.S. Training and Assessment Ltd is the closest (78 miles away).



Construction Civil Engineering: Steelfixing Occupations Major Projects

There are no training providers listed for this Apprenticeship within 50 miles of Hull.

Bridgwater and Taunton College is the closest (213 miles away).

Construction Steel Fixer There are no training providers listed for this Apprenticeship within 50 miles of Hull.

Heyrod Construction is the closest (76 miles away).

Engineering Manufacture: Engineering Maintenance and Installation

East Riding College

Babcock Training

Tagadvance

Engineering Manufacture: Fabrication and Welding

Hull College

East Riding College

Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education

North Lindsey College

Wakefield College

RNN Group

Engineering Manufacture: Marine (Ship, Yacht, Boatbuilding, Maintenance and Repair)

Babcock Training

Logistics Operations: Logistics Operative Fleetmaster Training Ltd

Intec Business Colleges

DeeKay Technical Recruitment

Vision West Nottingham College

The Intraining Group

Logistics Operations: Logistics Support Operative


Qube Learning

Management: Team Leading There are numerous training providers available for this Apprenticeship in the region.

Maritime Occupations: Able Seafarer/tug rating - engine room

Hull Training and Adult Education



Maritime Occupations: Port Operations JC Ready4Work

Rathbone

Maritime Occupations: Workboat Operation There are no training providers listed for this Apprenticeship within 50 miles of Hull.

Park Education & Training is the closest (114 miles away).

Supply Chain Management: Supply Chain Operations

Hull College



Level 3


Civil Engineering Technician There are no training providers listed for this Apprenticeship within 50 miles of Hull.

Salford and Trafford Engineering Group Training Association is the closest (83 miles away).

Engineering Construction: Electrical Installation

Babcock Training


Wakefield College

Engineering Construction: Electrical Maintenance


Engineering Construction: Instrument and Control


Engineering Construction: Mechanical Fitting


Wakefield College

Engineering Construction: Mechanical Maintenance


Wakefield College



Engineering Construction: Project Control There are no training providers listed for this Apprenticeship within 50 miles of Hull.

Stockport Engineering Training Association is the closest (78 miles away).

Engineering Construction: Steel Erecting North Lindsey College

Engineering Manufacture: Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Hull College


Humberside Engineering Training Association

East Riding College

Babcock Training

Selby College

York College


Engineering Manufacture: Engineering Maintenance

JTL

Hull College



East Riding College

Babcock Training

Selby College

Doncaster College

Lincoln College


University of Sheffield

Engineering Manufacture: Engineering Leadership


Engineering Manufacture: Installation and Commissioning

Selby College

Doncaster College




Engineering Manufacture: Marine (Ship Building, Maintenance and Repair)

Babcock Training

Engineering Technician Hull Training and Adult Education

Derwent Training Association

York College


Construction Technical and Professional: Geomatics Data Analysis

There are no training providers listed for this Apprenticeship in the UK.

Logistics Operations: Logistics Operations Team Leader / Section Supervisor

Hull College




Noth Lancs Training Group

Lincoln College

Maintenance and Operations Engineering Technician

Hull College




York College

Marine Engineer There are no training providers listed for this Apprenticeship in the UK.

Maritime Occupations: Officer of the watch on merchant vessels of less than 500 gross tonnage - near coastal


Maritime Occupations: Officer of the watch on merchant vessels of less than 3,000 gross tonnage - near coastal


Maritime Occupations: Merchant Navy (Deck)


Maritime Occupations: Merchant Navy (Engineering)




Power network craftsperson There are no training providers listed for this Apprenticeship within 50 miles of Hull.

Utility & Construction Training Ltd (87 miles away) is the closest.

Project Controls Technician T3 Training & Development (Barnsley)

Supply Chain Management DeeKay Technical Recruitment

Hull College

Surveying technician There are no training providers listed for this Apprenticeship within 50 miles of Hull.

University College of Estate Management (Reading) (160 miles away) is the closest.

Team leader / supervisor There are numerous training providers available for this Apprenticeship in the region.

Utilities engineering technician Trainspeople Ltd

Develop Training Ltd

Warehousing and Storage: Senior Warehouse Person / Team Leader

Ensis Solutions

Hull College




Noth Lancs Training Group

Lincoln College

Level 4


Associate project manager There are numerous training providers available for this Apprenticeship in the region.

Electrical Power Networks Engineer There are no training providers listed for this Apprenticeship in the UK.



Electrical power protection and plant commissioning engineer


Warwickshire College (113 miles away) is the only listed nationally.

Manufacturing Engineering: Electrical / Electronics

Wakefield College

Manufacturing Engineering: Maintenance East Riding College

Manufacturing Engineering: Marine There are no training providers listed for this Apprenticeship within 50 miles of Hull.

Sheffield Hallam University (53 miles away) is the only listed nationally.

Manufacturing Engineering: Mechanical East Riding College


Manufacturing Engineering: Wind Generation


Project Management GK Apprenticeships

Acorn Learning Solutions

Level 5


Supply Chain Management: Supply Chain Specialist


Supply Chain Management: International Supply Chain Manager


Port of Tilbury London (113 miles away) is the closest.

Level 6


Chartered manager degree Hull College



apprenticeship University of Hull

Encompass Consultancy

ioda Ltd


York St John University

Lincoln College

Coventry College (Scarborough)

University of Lincoln

Chartered surveyor Rathbone

Leeds Beckett University

Civil Engineer Leeds Beckett University

Construction Management: Construction Site Management


Nottingham Trent University (64 miles away) is the only listed nationally.

Construction Management: Management Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management


Middlesex University (149 miles away) is the only listed nationally.

Control / technical support engineer University of Sheffield

Electrical / electronic technical support engineer


Sheffield Hallam University (53 miles away) is the only listed nationally.


Level 7


Power Engineer There are no training providers listed for this Apprenticeship within 50 miles of Hull.

London South Bank University (155 miles away) is the only listed nationally.

Postgraduate Engineer University of Sheffield

In addition to the Greenport Hull funded Aura report by EU Skills referenced above, Greenport Hull has also published a report into Job Roles in Offshore Wind in 2017 (see references).

From stakeholder discussions, recruitment challenges and hard to fill vacancies include:

Process Engineers (degree qualified) with 5+ and 10+ years’ experience.

Instrumentation engineers and technicians.

Asset Integrity Inspectors.

The Age Profile study has also identified mechanical technicians as a potential skills shortage in the next five to ten years.

The concern in terms of age profile is that experienced technicians and engineers will retire before suitably qualified new recruits are trained if companies do not undertake a long-term strategy for their skills needs. Short-term recruitment and poaching will not satisfy the long-term needs for the region.

Specifically, the contractor companies are reporting that their key skills issue is around apprenticeships. Discussions within the CATCH Humber Engineering Managers’ Forum (a joint client / contractor engineering leadership meeting) has identified that there is an issue for contractors in taking on apprentices. The contractor apprentices traditionally spend year 1 at the training provider (e.g. CATCH in a realistic industrial environment), but the following years in the work place, contractors find it difficult to provide mentoring / supervision and appropriate work placements/jobs to complete learning modules. For this reason, they are generally not taking on apprentices.

In response to this issue CATCH has looked at developing a model to provide a potential solution through client / contractor collaboration. The model is outlined below, for illustrative purposes only at this stage as there are detailed issues that are being worked through, but it does indicate that through collaboration there could be a route to keeping the pipeline of apprentices flowing.


Fig 14 – Proposed contractor apprenticeship model

Technical skilled staff in both the chemical and offshore wind sectors are located in clusters around the UK (Aberdeen, London, Teesside and the North West). Traditionally, the Humber is recognised for oil and gas production, the wider range of chemical sector companies based in the region and a strong engineering supply chain supporting our sites. The workforce is often transient moving from oil / gas and chemical to offshore wind depending on the work available and salary structure. Generally, the same skillsets are required across the sectors.

Opportunities still exist overseas that are attracting skilled personnel from UK to design, build, operate and maintain plant and equipment. The remuneration packages are very attractive and there is a challenge for local business to keep their skilled staff.

The growth of the renewable sectors in the Humber (with predictions of much more investment to come) adds additional pressure on the already stretched local pool of skilled engineers and technicians. An electrical or instrumentation engineer skilled in the chemical sector is an attractive potential recruit to the offshore wind sector who are set to grow their numbers rapidly over the coming years. Project managers and project engineers are also in short supply and can be enticed into the renewables industry for a higher pay.

In terms of the supply chain need, the ECITB forecasts suggest a future shortfall of 56,000 skilled workers in the engineering construction industry nationally and the need for 500 apprentices to be recruited every year from now on until 2020. The ECITB predicts that the engineering construction manpower levels required by 2026 will be 5% greater than at 2014; in 2012 the forecast was the manpower levels would drop by approximately 10% by 2015 from 12%.

The ECITB has developed the Connected Competence scheme that standardises base competence and training requirements for both the offshore and onshore workforce in the UK. The scheme streamlines training, increases the base level of competence and assists with the efficient transfer of employees between companies. It is a collaborative scheme for the engineering construction sector that, by ensuring workers are competent, creates a safer workforce with the enhanced benefits of efficiency and productivity. There are agreed minimum common standards, awards and qualifications required for core trade roles among contracting companies and any unnecessary training and assessment is removed. The collaborative approach, linked to common standards, allows for consistent and fluid recruitment thus removing repeat training and assessment. It also standardises skills screening and technical testing at local test centres such as CATCH in a three-cycle model. www.connectedcompetence.co.uk


Fig 15 – The Connected Competence 3-cycle model

As long as clients and contractors adopt this the competence and skill level of the employees will be raised over time and more SMEs will undertake training, thus upskilling their workforce and supporting the need for more skilled personnel.

Looking at the CATCH Skills training delivery in FY17/18, the following has been drawn out:

48% of CATCH Skills customers in FY 17/18 were SMEs. This shows that the SME market is investing in training, but this is predominately either mandatory H&S interventions or client mandated training.

24% of CATCH Skills income came from SMEs in FY 17/18. This supports the view above because, while a high % of training is for SMEs, the interventions are low value (i.e. short duration mandatory courses).

459 delegates out of around 1,500 were trained from SME employers.

The SME training breakdown:

o Process: 14%

o Electrical: 1.8%

o Mechanical: 6%

o Health & Safety: 78.2% (supports the view regarding mandatory / client required training)

Emerging technologies/circumstances are impacting on the skills needed in the future in the sector. Examples include:

Direct drive turbines leading to a need for multi-skilled turbine technician: PLC electrical engineers.


There will be more technical roles moving forward. The need will be increasingly for personnel who can interpret data rather than rely on experience (although there will always remain a place for the traditional skills).

Automation in the chemical industry will increase productivity as the country heads towards the fourth industrial revolution. Process Operators and Instrument Technicians will need to be more digitally minded as the plants become more digital in their operation.

Use of drone technology for inspections and safety will create new skills.

Finally, it is worth pointing out that SMEs generally have tight budgets and find it difficult to undertake training other than what is mandated by HSE and client companies.


Legacy

This report has identified the industrial landscape nationally and regionally for the chemical and renewables industries and their contractor supply chains. As identified in this report there have been a number of studies into industry within the Humber region and many of these studies have identified skills and competency as a key issue. Skills and competency are also enduring themes through the CATCH networking activity, especially within the Training Managers, HR Managers, Contractor Competency and Engineering Managers forums.

Key skills issues drawn out through the research into this paper include:

The age profile must be addressed. A continuous pipeline needs to be maintained to ensure that skills gaps are not only closed in the short-term, but that they don’t reappear in the future.

Investment in skills from the SME community is primarily in regulative training. SSW opportunities are taken, but these are often in softer skills.

Specific skills that are lacking include welding and electrical / instrumentation technicians, identified through research and verified at the CATCH Engineering Managers’ forum in June 18.

Apprentice numbers have reduced. It is particularly difficult for contracting community to take on apprentices as work is not always guaranteed / available.

Generally, the chemical manufacturing and renewables companies are outside the scope of the SSW funding opportunities as they are often large, multinational, companies, so it is to the supply-chain that benefits from the funding available. CATCH has developed two new SME bespoke training interventions as a result of the project that support the chemical sector:

Process Course.

Laser Alignment Course.

These courses have been developed for SMEs and will be enduring in their need.

There are no known bespoke courses developed for the renewables sector through the SSW project.

In terms of a legacy, the CATCH network groups will continue to track the skills needs for the chemical and renewables sectors and CATCH itself will support industry on the regional and national stage.

The Chemical Growth Partnership is a critical organisation for the chemical sector. It is an industry / government organisation charged with growing the GVA from the chemical sector.


This organisation has a cross cutting skills group led by industry and output from this group will inform the skills debate for the industry.

The renewables sector is supported by a number of organisations, but regionally Project Aura (led by the Catapult and the University of Hull) will take forward a work strand looking at the talent pipeline within the sector both nationally and regionally.

The skills gap is recognised by industry and wider stakeholders and there is a great deal of work on-going to identify and address this shortage of skills at all levels. It is important that, moving forward, this work is joined up both on the national stage and regionally.


References and Contributors to the Report

This report has been drawn from the HHEIICS commissioned by the Humber LEP / Greenport Hull and CATCH and produced by the Carbon Trust. In preparing the study, the Carbon Trust interviewed representatives from the following companies:

Air Products

Associated British Ports

Associated Petroleum Terminals

BASF

BOC Immingham

BP Chemicals

British Steel

Cemex

Centrica Storage

Cristal

Croda

Drax Group

Greenergy

Team Humber Marine Alliance

Ineos

Nippon Gohsei

Northern Powergrid

Novartis

Orsted

Perenco

Phillips 66

PX Group

Reckitt Benckiser

Siemens Gamesa

Singleton Birch

SSE Gas Storage

SSE Keadby


Total Lindsey

University of Hull

Vivergo Fuels

VPI Immingham

A summary of the study can be found at http://www.catchuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Humber-EII-Cluster-Study-Summary.pdf

A number of Contractor Competency scheme (client and contractor) companies were consulted either verbally or through responding to a questionnaire.

The companies that responded in writing were:

Colt Industrial

Cristal

Destec

EMI

Hamon

Novartis

Weighsol

ECITB Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sector Report: https://www.ecitb.org.uk/Portals/0/Chemical%20and%20Pharmaceutical%20Sector%20Profile%205.3.pdf?ver=2016-04-28-153145-737

Aura - Future UK employment in the Offshore Wind Industry report dated June 2017: https://aurawindenergy.com/uploads/files/Cambride-Econometrics-Future-UK-Employment-in-Offshore-Wind-June-2017.pdf

Greenport Hull report - Job Roles in Offshore Wind dated 2017: http://greenporthull.co.uk/uploads/files/Job_Roles_in_Offshore_Wind.pdf

Aura commissioned EU Skills report funded through Greenport Hull - UK offshore wind skills study (2018 to 2032) – May 2018


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