Published on: July 8, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Energy & Utility Skills welcomes the publication of occupational role profiles for 16 scarce and critical occupations, released by the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC).
This joint resource was developed in partnership with RenewableUK and OWIC, following a series of industry engagement sessions led by Energy & Utility Skills to inform and shape the profiles.
Each role profile includes:
- A narrative description of the occupation
- Salary range
- Entry pathways for both new entrants and experienced workers
- Main tasks and duties
- Routes to competence across the UK (considering devolved nation variations), focusing on apprenticeships, qualifications, industry schemes, and National Occupational Standards
- Task/duty mapping to units of learning within each route to competence
- Progression and feeder occupations
- A summary of supply and demand challenges
The Occupational Profiles comprise of role tasks and duties, routes to competence across the UK, and progression and feeder occupations, together with a summary of supply and demand challenges for each role, intended to inform employer and industry action planning, including updates to existing provision — to ensure it provides full competency for a role — needs for new provision, and requirements for short courses aimed at new entrants.
You can access the published profiles here.
Strengthening Workforce Capability Through Occupational Mapping
Occupational mapping and standard-setting work carried out by Energy & Utility Skills reinforces the importance of improving sector-wide capability, operational efficiency and workforce mobility. Occupational mapping enables the comparison of roles across organisations by identifying shared responsibilities and unique competencies. This supports more targeted recruitment in aligned areas and helps develop training pathways that are tailored, relevant and safety-focused.
The benefits:
- For individuals, occupational maps provide clarity as to their path to new roles and opportunities in the sector
- For employers, they enable improvements in safety, efficiency, and return on investment
- At sector level, mapping enhances trust and transferability, noting that a modern career is one where an individual is likely to work with many employers in a sector
Representing an industry and membership body that collaborates closely with Government, employers, sector bodies and other organisations, Energy & Utility Skills Group is committed to addressing the workforce and skills challenges essential for achieving government energy security targets and advancing a cleaner, greener, and more prosperous economy.
Stephen Barrett, Director of Membership and Strategic Engagement at Energy & Utility Skills commented: “This work represents a major step forward in building a shared understanding of the skills needs across the offshore wind sector. By collaborating with OWIC and RenewableUK, and drawing directly on industry insight, we’ve ensured these role profiles reflect real-world requirements. They provide a strong foundation for attracting, training, and retaining the talent needed to meet the UK’s offshore wind ambitions as the demand for a safe skilled workforce continues to grow.”