TSA Insight Magazine Issue 18 - Magazine - Page 31
News
National Composites Centre and
the Tank Storage Association
call for action to meet hydrogen
targets in new workforce
foresighting report
Urgent action is needed in order for
the UK to meet the government’s
target
to
increase
hydrogen
production, according to a new
Workforce Foresighting Hub report.
Hydrogen has been identified as a
zero-carbon fuel source which can
help the UK reach its ambitious Net
Zero targets. In the British Energy
Security Strategy, the government
set a target to deliver up to 10 GW
of hydrogen production capacity
by 2030, with at least half of this
coming from electrolytic hydrogen.
The workforce foresighting report
was carried out to identify future skills
demands to be addressed to meet
the challenge of increasing hydrogen
production. It identified future supply
chain capabilities, future occupational
profiles, and suggested changes to
current training provision to deliver
the skills needed for its wholesale
adoption. Without action now, it is
likely that the capabilities and capacity
of the workforce will be insufficient
to meet the needs for achieving the
government’s targets.
The report focuses specifically on
above-ground hydrogen storage
tanks, which are critical in all aspects
of bulk storage, distribution and
commercial hydrogen use and are
applicable across many sectors.
However, concerns about skills gaps
in design, installation, maintenance,
and operation threaten to impede
progress in this critical area. The
report was sponsored by the Tank
Storage Association and led by the
National Composites Centre, in
collaboration with the Hydrogen Skills
Alliance, which brought together
experts from education, employment
and the industry to produce it. The
outcomes of the report play an initial
role in shaping the future workforce
capabilities required to build the
workforce with the skills to meet the
demand for hydrogen.
The report is part of the Workforce
Foresighting
Hub
programme,
an Innovate UK initiative, which
brings together domain specialists,
educators and employers across
innovative technologies to deliver
individual ‘foresighting cycles’ on
specific challenges. By assessing
capability needs and identifying
gaps in current skills development,
the goal is to support the education
and training sector to effectively
drive action within each individual
challenge.
The report is available at https://iuk.
ktn-uk.org/perspectives/meetingt h e - d e m a n d s - o f- t h e - evo lv i n g hydrogen-landscape/
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