East Coast Energy Skills development Kevin Rodger, Policy Manager Skills, Suffolk County Council

Skills Shortages: The Potential Impact Delays in development and deployment with knock-on effects to subsequent stages Higher labour costs, as employers increase wages to attract the staff required, putting other industries at risk The introduction of labour from elsewhere in the EU, resulting in a loss of employment opportunities

The Importance of Timing Short Term: Transfer from one sector to another. Medium Term: Attracting new entrants through e.g. apprenticeships. Long Term: Increasing the flow of children taking STEM subjects at secondary school.

The Challenges A bottleneck due to high absorption rates relative to the size of the current workforce. Absence of good information on the sector and its growth, feeding cautious decisions and investments by firms and training providers. Predicting demand (scale) and need (content). No minimum or shared standards and the costs of developing courses and training facilities, exacerbated by reductions in public sector funding. A lack of flexibility in the operation of apprenticeships. A general lack of awareness about the current and future career opportunities in the sector.

Training & Education: Existing provision The Energy Skills Foundation Programme An extensive range of offshore training provision at Lowestoft College Undergraduate & postgraduate Energy engineering programmes at UEA. A Nuclear Skills Academy at West Suffolk College Forces 4 Energy STEM Ambassadors Specialist Industry Training

Energy Skills for the East Coast: Implementation Plan Supporting increased local employment Helping to attract inward investment; and Enabling local businesses to grow

Priorities 1.Raising Awareness of the Energy Sector Increasing awareness of career opportunities and entry routes into the energy sector 2.Providing a Coherent Training and Education Offer Providing access to a coherent training and education offer for new entrants to the sector or those requiring re-skilling or up-skilling as appropriate 3.Energy Skills Infrastructure Ensuring appropriate infrastructure and information is in place to support skills development for the energy sector