The UK government has announced a £6.5 million investment in engineering skills for the renewable energy industry.
Business secretary Vince Cable said the scheme would provide training for up to 50 of the best engineering students as part of a new Industrial Doctorate Centre in Offshore Renewable Energy, delivered through leading universities and industry.
The students will be trained in technologies such as designing cost-efficient new windmill blades and testing the latest wave energy technology.
The engineers, who are expected to begin their training in January 2012, will also be trained in business, entrepreneurial, research and technical skills.
Training will be delivered by Edinburgh, Strathclyde and Exeter universities, together with the Scottish Association for Marine Science and consultancy HR-Wallingford. Companies taking part include EDF Energy, BP, Caterpillar, E.ON, Rolls Royce and Shell.
Commenting, Cable said: “Engineering skills are vital for the growth of a more sustainable economy and are in high demand from employers. This scheme will see industry working with universities to provide students with the training and commercial experience businesses want.
“Scotland has real strengths in renewable energy—wind, wave and tidal power, building on a strong tradition of hydro. These students will have the chance to work with some of the leading energy companies based here and tackle one of our biggest challenges – developing technology for a greener future.”
David Ingram PhD, professor of Computational Dynamics at the University of Edinburgh, said: "If the UK is to meet its ambitious targets for renewable energy deployment in 2020 and 2050 we need to dramatically increase the number of highly trained engineers with expertise and understanding in resource assessment, project planning, device development, grid integration and environmental impact.”
