Xodus has received a grant of approximately US$2.18mn from ETZ Ltd for X-Academy and ScotWind consortium partners bp and EnBW have committed more than US$1.36mn if their ScotWind application is successful
In Aberdeen, X-Academy will provide training opportunities for hundreds of people to work directly on initiatives to reduce emissions and accelerate efforts towards net zero.
The two-year mentored placements in Aberdeen will be open to graduates and people looking to reskill for positive change with 24 participants expected in the first cohort. Non-profit-making X-Academy will reinvest training profits into further skills development, climate projects and innovations.
ETZ Ltd is allocating the fund from the North East Economic Recovery and Skills Fund (NEERSF) to support the project.
Peter Tipler, X-Academy director and sales and marketing director at Xodus, said, “With each trainee spending around 2,000 hours a year through on the job learning, we want to harness that power and put talented and motivated people to work addressing the moon-shot ideas that could make the biggest difference. We are thrilled to have the support of ETZ, bp and EnBW and are in talks with other stakeholders to ensure X-Academy can help as many people as possible.”
Rebecca Hewlett, director of renewables and environment at Xodus, added, “Alongside broader transition skills, X-Academy is our investment in contributing to the sustainability of the Scottish offshore wind industry. We will be working with key clients to help a new generation of workers to access the opportunities that the energy transition is creating. The growth of offshore wind globally has been incredible to witness, but without a concerted effort, we will quickly encounter a bottle-neck in experienced professionals to deliver these projects.”
Maggie McGinlay, chief executive at ETZ Ltd, commented, “ETZ is committed to ensuring a Just Transition by enabling the transition of skills to progress low carbon energy opportunities. We are excited to support this initiative which will deliver a practical and action focused model to deliver a workforce that is ready to support the leading position the North East of Scotland is taking in the journey to Net Zero.”
Emeka Emembolu, senior vice-president North Sea at bp, said, “Scotland is uniquely positioned to lead the energy transition by harnessing the decades of skills and experience built up in the offshore oil and gas sector. Initiatives like the X-Academy will open doors for existing and future talent to pursue careers in the low carbon energy sector – and importantly be included in a just transition."
