The second edition of Poland's largest educational careers fair, EDU OFFSHORE WIND, will take place on 5 and 6 March at AMBEREXPO in Gdańsk. The fair is an event organised both for young people seeking work in the fast-growing, promising offshore sector, and for innovative companies in need of skilled staff. This year's edition promises to be very interesting.
Among the new features of this year's edition, we will find, among others the Energy Transition Island, promoting innovative green technologies, the Innovation Baltic Challenge by Inkubator Starter in cooperation with the Baltic Sea States Subregional Co-operation (BSSSC) Youth Council, where over the two days of the fair, young people will work alongside businesses on business solutions in the offshore wind sector. Visitors can also look forward to the JOB TRUCKzone, where current internship and apprenticeship offers in the green energy sector will be presented, as well as numerous accompanying events, such as: competitions, workshops and panel discussions.
The energy transition is gathering pace, but for this process to succeed, synergy between companies and government institutions is needed. Education plays a key role throughout the whole process, both in terms of knowledge about the offshore wind sector, its potential and its applications, as well as the training of skilled staff.
– In line with the slogan of this year's EDU OFFSHORE WIND 2024 fair, "Spreading a passion for green energy", we want to highlight that Poland's energy transition relies on alternative energy sources such as: energy storage, hydrogen, quantum technologies, and photovoltaics. This sector of the economy cannot develop without competent staff. That is why we encourage school pupils and students to learn the ins and outs of these technologies and, in future, to build a career in green energy. The Pomeranian Voivodeship local government supports such educational initiatives, which build up the resources of the local labour market – says Leszek Bonna, Deputy Marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodeship
According to data published by PSEW Poland has offshore wind potential at the level of 33 GW. This means that if the Baltic's full potential were harnessed, offshore wind energy could meet as much as 57% of Poland's total electricity demand.
– Seeing the huge success and enthusiasm of young people during the first edition of the EDU OFFSHORE WIND fair in 2023, we decided to continue our support for this project – says Piotr Borawski, Deputy Mayor of Gdańsk for Entrepreneurship and Climate Protection. – We are observing the dynamic growth of green energy and the offshore wind energy sector. Companies from these sectors are increasingly choosing Gdańsk as their base, strengthening the local supply chain and creating new jobs. We are convinced that our city can not only be a leader in this field, but can also provide the right education and training for the next generations of specialists, whose demand will keep growing.
Polish companies not only see the potential of the sector, but are actively participating in the development of local content. They recognise the need to train new staff for this dynamic labour market. According to the PSEW report, demand for competent staff in green energy is estimated to reach as much as 200,000 new jobsby 2040. Since 2022, workshops on offshore wind energy have been run in Pomeranian schools, giving young people the chance to learn about the specifics of the offshore wind industry. More than 4,500 pupils.
have already taken part in the workshops. – We have already visited more than 125 schools, with more still to come! The lessons are also available on our YouTube channel and e-learning platform. During the sessions, we show step by step what the preparation and delivery of offshore wind farm investments looks like. We talk about career paths for specific roles, such as sheet-metal bending machine operators or wind turbine service technicians. We point out which skills employers value most and how to develop them. Working in offshore wind energy is still a new topic in Poland, which is why meetings in schools and universities aim to give pupils, students and teachers the best possible introduction to these issues before they attend the fair – says Krzysztof Tomaszewski, lead presenter of the schools programme and co-organiser of the fair on behalf of the Foundation for Innovative Offshore Energy Industry.
Registration for the event will open soon. Admission is free for young people and teachers. A registration link for exhibitors is also available: EduOffshoreWind.
The organisers of the EDU OFFSHORE WIND 2024 fair are Rumia Invest Park, CO-MADE Sp. z o. o., #Foundation for Innovative Offshore Energy Industry (CEE Energy Group) and Międzynarodowe Targi Gdańskie S.A. – AMBEREXPO.
Main Partners #EDUOFFSHOREWIND2024 are: the Pomeranian Voivodeship local government
and the city of #Gdańsk.
Anyone interested in cooperation and our offer is welcome to get in touch with Dr Karolina Lipińska, k.lipinska@pomorskie.eu or Łukasz Kneba lukasz.kneba@eduoffshorewind.pl
For more information, please visit the event website: www.eduoffshorewind.pl and our social media profiles LinkedIn , Facebook , YouTube , Instagram