The PowerHouse

As someone born and bred in the Highlands, it is tremendously exciting to be part of the team working towards the establishment of Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport (ICFGF).

The Green Freeport will revolutionise the Scottish and Highland economies, generating new and exciting roles for our future workforce. I am thrilled to be supporting this initiative and highlighting the potential different routes to employment.

I started as PowerHouse Manager at the end of last year and have been working with stakeholders to understand the opportunities that ICFGF brings to our current skills and training providers. In the Highlands, we are fortunate to have many stakeholders who are embracing the Green Freeport and want to be as flexible as possible when considering what is important to our employers and future workforce.

Helping realise the region’s huge potential

Our stakeholders understand that Green Freeport status will help realise this area’s potential to become the largest European hub for the development of the offshore wind industry. They recognise that this offers a huge opportunity to address the challenge of working-age depopulation in the Highlands and to accelerate economic growth and innovation.

In terms of job creation, we are looking at around 10,250 across multiple sectors and different skills levels. I see these opportunities as being staggered over the next decade, but it is so important that we continue to review skills requirements regularly to ensure the pipeline of opportunities is managed effectively.

These roles will not only benefit the younger demographic in the Highlands. There will also be opportunities for reskilling older generations and attracting others into the area. The mechanics of how to upskill or reskill is a challenge, however we are working with our business community to understand and overcome this.

Bring business and academia together

We see the role of the PowerHouse as being a vehicle to bring businesses and academia together to ensure people are equipped to benefit from the new opportunities and employers have the skilled workforces they require. As part of this, we need to challenge some traditional perceptions and get the message across that there are many routes into successful employment in our area.

As a parent, I want to be able to provide the right advice to my son and also to know that the right information is available for all young people like him in the area. I see the PowerHouse as having a crucial role in making sure that happens.

Earlier this year, it was fantastic to see more than 600 young people from across the region attending the first Green Careers Expo, which was held at Alness Academy. Developing the Young Workforce Inverness and Central Highlands, along with Skills Development Scotland, worked hard to bring more than 30 employers, training providers, educational institutions and partners to inspire the next generation into green energy careers.

Building on successes already achieved

Looking ahead, an advisory board of business and academia colleagues will be established to help support and guide the work of the PowerHouse. Together we will build on the successes already achieved over the past few years through an established group of willing and very able people.

It is not an exaggeration to say the Highlands are on the cusp of an industrial revolution and I firmly believe this area has the capability and capacity, as well as the enthusiasm and drive needed to maximise the benefits of the transformational opportunities ahead.

Alli Vass, PowerHouse Manager, Inverness & Cromarty Firth Green Freeport