The Must Know Offshore Wind Hiring Trends for 2024

Offshore Wind Planning and Consenting

With numerous offshore wind projects in the early stages, planning and consenting roles are in demand to secure permits and approvals for projects. This role is critical in ensuring that projects comply with all relevant laws and regulations. Look for experience in environmental impact assessment, regulatory compliance, and stakeholder engagement.

Expertise in the renewable energy industry is a true asset, due to the competitive and complex nature of securing renewable energy projects. Each market across the globe has its own regulations and local content rules, so these offshore wind experts need to understand the relevant criteria in and between markets. They must navigate the regulatory landscape, making informed decisions throughout the consenting process.

Offshore Wind High Voltage Electrical Technicians

These technicians are in demand for their specialisation in the electrical infrastructure of offshore wind farms, including substations, transmission lines, and other high-voltage systems. Hiring managers should eek expertise in electrical engineering, maintenance, and safety protocols. These skilled offshore wind talents are essential for the safe and efficient transmission of electricity from offshore turbines to onshore grids. Any issues and projects experience significant disruption in energy losses, commercial downtime, and dangerous safety hazards!

Offshore Wind Engineers

Quality of service is vital to successful projects. Offshore Wind Engineers are crucial to designing, building, and maintaining the physical components of an offshore wind project, with their work directly impacting the project’s safety, reliability, and efficiency.

Engineers are required for offshore wind projects across a host of varied specialisations, such as civil, mechanical, and structural engineering, as well as geotechnical and subsea. For the construction of new offshore wind farms, their skills are needed in designing and maintaining the infrastructure, ensuring structural integrity, and performance of the wind turbines and their supporting structures. These high-stake hires must ensure wind farms are constructed well to reduce losses later down the line. Germany and Central Eastern Europe have seen 53% of insurance claims relate to cable damage, and 20% to turbine failure, incurring multi-million-dollar losses.

Offshore Wind Digitalisation and Automation

Offshore Wind is continuously evolving, and so is modern software! With the increased use of digital technologies and automation, senior-level hires with expertise in digitalisation and automation to help drive the digitalisation of their operations and processes are essential. This includes renewable energy professionals with experience in data analytics, and digital twinning, who can help companies optimise their operations and reduce costs.

Offshore Wind Turbine Technicians

Going into 2024, after the construction of offshore projects, there will be rising demand for talented offshore wind turbine technicians. These vital professionals are required for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the wind turbines themselves, ensuring they operate efficiently and safely. Hiring managers will look to expertise in mechanical and electrical systems, as well as safety protocols specific to working on offshore turbines. Regular maintenance and repairs are essential to maximize the energy output of the turbines and to prevent costly downtime.

Promoting STEM management in Offshore Wind

In 2024 we could see offshore wind hiring managers promoting STEM engagement with young people. This may prove essential for the offshore wind industry to secure a skilled workforce for the future. Actively engaging with students and young individuals on the exciting career opportunities within the offshore wind industry could inspire the next generation of engineers, technicians, and environmental scientists. This ensures a continuous pipeline of talent whilst selling up-and-coming talent on the innovation and sustainability of offshore wind projects. Encouraging STEM education and career exploration is an investment in the industry’s future success.

Offshore Wind hiring candidates from different sectors

Oil and Gas Candidates

With pressure looming to find skilled offshore wind talent hiring managers may look to different sectors for transferable expertise. Take structural engineering for example, the same principles for designing an offshore substation or wind turbine generator are similar to an oil and gas jacket foundation. This talent may need support with learning new software or adhering to specific industry or geographic standards, but this can be trained efficiently as the core components of structural engineering remain the same.

Technology Candidates

The technology sector is a massive rival for offshore wind talent due to the increasing overlap in skills between sectors. Valuable experience with SCADA systems, cyber security, and IT are all attractive and in demand skills pursued by offshore wind companies.

How to land the best permanent Offshore Wind candidates:

Look at motivations. Finding offshore wind talent that shares the company mission, vision and values is clear to keep talent around longer for your goals – shared values and finding someone to slot within your company culture is essential to greater ROI.

Don’t just highlight a great salary. Offshore Wind companies should address benefits packages going into 2024 – are they competitive compared with to rival companies? Are you sharing the growth opportunities within the company to attract candidates?

To recruit multiple hires, get specific on the job specifications of the role.

Re-evaluate what requirements are truly unnegotiable? What qualifications can you compromise on in favour of dedicated years of experience in the field?

You don’t want to inadvertently shy away experienced talent because they don’t have a more recent qualification, for example, a master’s degree, or price out talent who don’t have an expensive qualification.