Equinor and Polenergia at EDU OFFSHORE WIND in Gdańsk
The next edition of the EDU OFFSHORE WIND Educational Career Fair is behind us. For two days, our stand at the Amber Expo in Gdańsk was visited by thousands of young people, whom we encouraged to build their professional careers in the new offshore wind energy industry.
EDU OFFSHORE WIND is the largest educational event in the country that brings the job market in the green energy industry closer. This year, it brought together around 100 exhibitors from the innovative offshore wind and hydrogen sectors and more than 8,000 high school students, college students, recent graduates, and those looking for career change opportunities.
Those interested could meet with companies and institutions related to the offshore wind industry and establish contact with future employers, among others with representatives of our companies - Equinor and Polenergia. Together, we are implementing three Baltic offshore wind farm projects with a total capacity of 3 GW and we are already looking for specialists to operate and service them. Our investments will generate approximately 10,000 jobs over the entire 30-year period of operation of wind farms in the Baltic Sea.
During the two days of this educational event, which is unique on a national scale, young people could talk to us about our investments, as well as find out about the development opportunities offered by the rapidly growing offshore industry, which will soon need thousands of qualified employees. Our companies will be looking for, among others, experts for the service base in Łeba to operate offshore wind farms. Up to 100 people will be employed there, both office workers and specialists going to sea. Visitors to our stand could deepen their knowledge about the expectations of the labor market, the recruitment process, and desired competencies, as well as take part in a knowledge competition and win eco gadgets.
This year's edition of the EDU OFFSHORE WIND Educational Career Fair was held under the slogan "We infect young people with a passion for green energy".
– Every year we can see that there are more and more people infected with this passion. We are optimistic about the enthusiasm of young people who know more and more about our industry and increasingly perceive it as an attractive, stable, and promising place to work. Together with us, they want to shape the new, green energy, a better future for the world, and participate in its sustainable development. The second edition of the Career Fair proves that the involvement of the organizers and the educational activities of the entire offshore wind sector to attract and educate future staff make sense and are necessary for the development of this sector – emphasizes Michał Jerzy Kołodziejczyk, President of Equinor in Poland.
Building eco-social awareness and interest in the offshore wind sector among young people is one of the main goals of educational projects undertaken by our companies. For several years, we have been involved in improving the professional qualifications necessary for the construction and operation of offshore wind farms. As part of our original Flagship Program, the Maritime Competence Academy, we undertake many activities, the common denominator of which is building new competencies, which are crucial for the development of the offshore wind industry in Poland, and disseminating knowledge about the opportunities offered by the development of offshore wind energy.
– Our initiatives are addressed to young people at all levels of education: from primary school students, to whom we explain in an accessible way what green energy is and how it can prevent adverse climate change, to university students educating future employees of the offshore wind sector, to whom we provide specialist knowledge. We show them opportunities in the field of new professions and new technologies as well as career paths that open up for them along with the energy transformation of Poland – says Marta Porzuczek, Director of the Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development at Polenergia Group.
EDU OFFSHORE WIND – organized by the Gdańsk International Fair, Rumia Invest Park, Co-Made, and the Foundation for the Innovative Offshore Energy Industry – was held under the patronage of the Minister of Education, the Minister of Science, the Minister of Climate and Environment and the Minister of Development and Technology. The main partners are the Local Government of the Pomeranian Voivodeship and the City of Gdańsk. The EDU OFFSHORE WIND fair is an initiative of the Pomeranian Platform for the Development of Offshore Wind Energy in the Baltic Sea and the Pomeranian Offshore Renewable Energy Competence Center.
