The initiative demonstrates the advantages of local enterprises and further education establishments working closely with industry to develop relevant, sector specific skills.
This concept of collaboration and information sharing continues on from a rich heritage of successful industrial partnerships developed by Furness Enterprise and Furness College dating back over thirty years.
Much of their work to date has focused on marine based sectors, from oil & gas to ship and submarine building. The renewable energy sector is considered the next ‘step’ in this process of industry collaboration and skills development. The wind farm development at Ormonde will be the first major offshore wind project to take advantage of the scheme.
“Furness as a region is a hot bed for marine based skills – by harnessing our strong heritage with the shipping and oil & gas industries, and working with Furness College, major industry employers, schools and local authorities, we are not only in a position to offer a rich supply of relevant, transferable skills, we can also develop bespoke training schemes ideally suited to the offshore wind sector,” comments Stuart Klosinski, Industrial Development Manager, Furness Enterprise.
To support this process, Furness College and Furness Training, the Business Development Arm of the College, set up the Furness Skills Forum for Environmental Technologies. The Forum enables the College to engage with local and national employers, schools and education providers, to facilitate networking opportunities, identify skill shortages and develop relevant training courses.
National Wind Training Centre
As part of a 42 million pound redevelopment initiative now underway at Furness College, a National Wind Training Centre has also been set up to provide hands on specialist training for offshore wind sector workforces, graduates and trainees. Technical courses are being run by National Wind Farm Training Centre with additional programmes and qualifications being run through Furness Training.
The National Wind Farm Training Centre will work in close collaboration with major wind energy players, supported by Furness Training who are already in discussions with turbine manufacturer REpower and energy companies Vattenfall and Dong to deliver Health & Safety qualifications. This collaborative scheme will ensure syllabuses and course content are directly in line with industry requirements. ‘Offsite’ apprenticeship schemes are planned for the future.
The centre piece of the training scheme is a 17 metre high ‘simulation turbine’ supplied and operated by National Wind Farm Training Centre. The mock turbine will help trainees practice much needed engineering, health & safety, operations and maintenance skills.
“Our ambition is to not just provide training for qualifications and skills development, but also to anticipate future development needs in line with new initiatives. One of our key aims is to have Furness College and Furness Training recognised as a ‘Centre of Excellence’ for the Environmental sector. We have already formed an Environmental Sector Forum, and with Ormonde in the early development stages, offshore wind is clearly a key focus for us,” explains Mary Myers, Director of Furness Training.
REpower, Vattenfall, Dong and a number of other renewable energy employers have been highly proactive within the new Environmental Sector Forum. Regular meetings with industry spokespeople help the College develop bespoke courses for the sector, as well as provide guidance about the training requirements going forward.
REpower, one of Vattenfall’s major suppliers, is working with the College to develop much needed skills for the construction and installation stage of Ormonde. For example, after consultation with REpower site management, Furness College developed a three day ‘Safety Awareness Programme’ for the wind turbine manufacturer as part of an induction process for 28 of their newest engineers. A proportion of the 28 employees were sourced with the help of Furness Enterprise who provided the necessary networking opportunities, and access to a locally based skills pool. This is an example of where both skills and workforces are developed and sourced locally.
“Our work with Furness College will help us develop the highly specialist skills we need for Ormonde,” says Rick Eggleston, Managing Director of REpower UK. “They have an excellent training base with all the necessary facilities. Furness Enterprise has also been a critical resource, helping us source local talent and build networks with local suppliers. We view these as critical relationships going forward in ensuring the local economy benefits on a broader scale.”
Vattenfall are also looking to work with the College to develop courses for their operations and maintenance teams, where local workforces will be trained and employed to operate the offshore wind farm at Ormonde.
REpower and Vattenfall have also given talks at a number of secondary schools and colleges in the Furness area. They are helping raise awareness of the opportunities of the wind energy sector. Where short to medium term skills gaps can be addressed by cross skilling, apprenticeship schemes and FE courses, inspiring young people at the grass roots is seen by many experts as the key to ensuring healthy stream of talent for the future.
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