Building the workforce for North Sea offshore renewable energy

The North Sea shared by the Netherlands and Flanders has significant potential to become one of Europe’s leading regions for offshore renewable energy. Realising this potential requires not only innovative technologies and infrastructure, but also a skilled workforce equipped to develop, install, operate and maintain them.

To meet this challenge, the European Commission has published the Regional Skills Partnership (RSP) for North Sea Offshore Renewable Energy under the EU Pact for Skills. Building on the cross-border collaboration established through Offshore For Sure (O4S), the partnership aims to bring industry, education and public authorities together to develop the skills the sector needs.

From project collaboration to a regional skills partnership

The offshore renewable energy sector faces a growing demand for skilled professionals, while education and training provision remains fragmented across national borders. Although the Netherlands and Flanders share the same stretch of sea and many common workforce needs, training initiatives and resources are not always coordinated.

The Regional Skills Partnership aims to address this gap by creating a more integrated approach to workforce development. It builds on the collaboration established through O4S, an Interreg Vlaanderen-Nederland project connecting partners across the offshore renewable energy value chain.

By bringing this collaboration into a standing partnership with a shared action plan and measurable targets, the RSP seeks to strengthen cooperation and make better use of expertise, training facilities and educational resources on both sides of the border.

Working together to close the skills gap

The partnership focuses on four priorities:

• Establish a formal cross-border partnership of education providers, industry and public bodies, expanding on the existing ‘Offshore For Sure’ project partners and its Advisory Board.
• Work with regional stakeholders to provide structured upskilling and reskilling opportunities across VET and higher professional education, giving workers and employers the digital and offshore skills the sector needs while making the region a more attractive place to work and build a career.
• Build shared, evidence-based cross-border skills-intelligence that continuously aligns training provision with labour-market demand.
• Create value for its members by pooling facilities, resources and expertise, raising visibility, allowing them a say in regional ORE skills priorities and secure funding for these activities beyond the O4S period (ends June 2027).

Working towards 2030

The Regional Skills Partnership has set clear targets to strengthen cross-border skills development in North Sea offshore renewable energy. By 2028, the partnership aims to bring together 20 committed partner organisations and reach more than 700 learners, including vocational education trainees and professionals.

To achieve this, the partnership will work towards:

• Identifying skills needs: Conducting one joint cross-border analysis of skills needs and target groups.
• Expanding training opportunities: Developing 16 cross-border online courses, including eight new courses.
• Sharing knowledge and expertise: Delivering 20 workshops and masterclasses, including ten new activities.
• Strengthening collaboration: Holding two stakeholder partnership meetings per year and organising two advisory board assemblies.
• Securing long-term cooperation: Submitting a joint funding proposal to sustain partnership activities beyond the O4S project.

Together, these actions aim to create a more coordinated and accessible regional skills ecosystem, better aligned with the needs of the offshore renewable energy sector.

The longer-term ambition is to establish the Netherlands–Flanders region as a recognised European hub for offshore renewable energy talent by 2030, ensuring that workforce development keeps pace with the sector's growth

Join the partnership

The Regional Skills Partnership builds on the commitment of its founding partners: EWA – Dutch Energy from Water Association, Bluespring, World Class Maintenance, Deftiq, HOWEST University of Applied Sciences, Scalda, ORE Netwerk Zeeland, Ghent University and Crest Collective.

Together, they are working towards a more connected skills ecosystem that supports both the offshore renewable energy sector and the people who will shape its future.

Organisations active in offshore renewable energy across the Netherlands and Flanders are invited to join the partnership and contribute to its ambitions.

Interested in becoming part of the Regional Skills Partnership? Get in touch to explore how your organisation can contribute.