UK's renewable segment fails to provide jobs to young people - GMB

Sep 23, 2013 - UK’s union for energy workers GMB on Thursday voiced concerns that the country is failing to ensure work in offshore wind and marine energy for young unemployed in the country as these sectors import most of the needed equipment and workforce.

Last week, trade body RenewableUK and partners published a report saying that the on- and offshore wind, wave and tidal energy industry in the UK and Ireland was providing direct full-time employment to 18,465 people in mid-2013. According to GMB the study provides a false idea about the number of green jobs that could be created in England. The union says that the sector missed the opportunity to provide jobs to the nearly one-million unemployed young workers in the country. “These figures disguise the disgraceful lack of a proper strategy to promote the industry and the skills needed”, it said.

The association gives as an example the 630-MW London Array I wind farm off Kent and Essex, whose turbines and most of the infrastructure was made overseas. In addition, boats with European workers were engaged to float the machines, not local people. “If government and the industry are serious about developing green jobs in the UK they would not allow this to be happening”, GMB said.

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