Film Offshore wind: Employment and Training

SERENE MUSIC PLAYS

THE SERENE MUSIC TRANSITIONS INTO EXCITING MUSIC

PETER GEERTSE: Offshore wind not only creates a great many jobs, it also provides a wide range of employment opportunities.

We see how wind farms are constructed and think that's where the jobs are, but an entire industry exists in connection with those farms.

In reality, this is a new, dynamic industry that is growing much more rapidly than the other segments and with which, in the past decade, we have been able to establish quite a reputation for ourselves in the Netherlands and abroad.

With companies such as Van Oord and Boskalis, the Netherlands leads the global market in offshore wind energy.

The whole country benefits from that.

And if we look at the jobs created by offshore wind nationwide, that's a very large number.

Yeah, if we are talking about this region, I'd estimate the industry accounts for direct employment somewhere between 1,000 and 1,200 full-time jobs.

But if we count the spin-offs, too – the additional jobs from indirect employment – that number is easily two or three times larger.

(A pontoon is dragged.)

Most of the direct employment is logistical in nature.

Making sure the parts that arrive here are assembled and loaded onto the ships.

So that includes crane drivers and aspects like that.

But we're also seeing an increase in the maintenance staff needed to maintain the wind farms that have been built off the coast of Zeeland – we have special training programmes for them.

(Images of people at work.)

Yes, other jobs include project leaders and technical preparation staff, but it's much broader than that.

The financing of the wind farms – yeah, it's actually quite broad.

(A man stands in the mud.)

If you want to attract offshore wind-related businesses to your port area, a port authority – and definitely a government body as well – will need to make sure that area has sufficient well-qualified people to hire.

That's why we also cooperate closely with higher professional and senior secondary vocational programmes that have introduced these training programmes, supported in part by government funding.

NOUT NAGTEGAAL: Engineers are in high demand.

Previously, all the turbine suppliers provided their own personnel.

Both offshore and onshore, the scale and the scope have become so large that a huge number of people, really, are needed for the technical trades within the wind industry.

We now offer a course in wind turbine maintenance.

This course ensures students who successfully complete the course have earned a recognised diploma in addition to the diploma obtained for the rest of the programme.

In other words, they study for the same amount of time and end up with two diplomas.

The remarkable thing, I think, is that it's a combination of the engineering disciplines: mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, and sensor.

This means all those professions are being brought together in one learning package and that naturally makes it extremely appealing to students.

I think students who have completed the minor, in addition to the basic programme, will have a really valuable CV.

(According to Nout Nagtegaal.)

Many students choose the wind energy sector because they want to work in a sustainable industry that is also contributing to their future.

In recent years, I've been tremendously surprised by how aware our new generation is, yes.

If you ask me, three things have set the tone for our start in Zeeland:

Education, entrepreneurs and government.

Speaking for those of us in Zeeland, I think we've established a really close-knit team to ensure the industry – and the necessary people – are ready to make it all happen here in Zeeland.

(A boy files a metal object.)

We are in contact with all the other vocational secondary schools, particularly those near the coast.

That partnership is called the KustCoalitie, or Coast Coalition.

We've agreed to digitise our materials and make them available to students throughout the Netherlands.

(A student rotates/turns/cranks something.)

I think here in the Netherlands, we have a unique product to offer in terms of knowledge and expertise in this area.

Not only in connection with education and training, but as a total package.

(An offshore wind farm. The Dutch crest, accompanied by: Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. Text on screen: Offshore wind: Employment and Training. www.windopzee.nl.)

THE SERENE MUSIC PLAYS FOR A MOMENT LONGER AND THEN FADES OUT

Parts of offshore wind farms such as blades and foundation piles are located in the port of Vlissingen. They are impressively large. Large ships are needed to bring these parts to the wind farm zone at sea. You don't just build a wind farm at sea. That requires technology and people. Peter Geertse of Havenbedrijf Seaports knows all about it.

At Scalda an mbo school, Nout Nagtegaal confirms the demand for well-trained technicians who can work in a wind farm. These students are sure to have a job in the wind energy sector after obtaining their diploma. They will be able to work anywhere in the world.