Offshore Wind Skills Priorities and Action Plan: Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA)
An assessment of the impacts of Scotland's Offshore Wind Skills Priorities and Action Plan on child rights and wellbeing.
Offshore Wind Skills Priorities and Action Plan: Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA)
1. Brief Summary
Type of proposal:
Decision of a strategic nature relating to the rights and wellbeing of children
Name the proposal, and describe its overall aims and intended purpose.
Scotland’s Offshore Wind Skills Priorities and Action Plan: Powering Progress Together
The Plan explains the first steps Scotland can take to help more people get the skills they need to work in the growing offshore wind sector. Offshore wind is the production of electricity from wind turbines out at sea.
Scotland’s offshore wind sector is expanding and there are a lot of potential offshore wind projects to deliver. To make these projects happen, we need lots of trained and skilled people who can do different types of jobs. It is important that local communities benefit directly from the opportunities the growth of the offshore wind sector has to offer, including securing rewarding work.
The Scottish Government set up a group called the Offshore Wind Skills Short-Life Working Group. This group included people from industry, government, colleges, universities, national skills bodies, and trade unions. They worked together to agree:
-
Priority job roles to focus on first;
-
Shared goals to work towards when taking action to meet skills needs; and
-
Initial actions to meet industry training needs, help people move into offshore wind jobs, and make sure everyone has a fair chance to benefit from the high quality jobs the sector has to offer.
Start Date of Proposal’s Development: February 2025 (establishment of the Offshore Wind Skills Short-Life Working Group).
Start Date of CRWIA Process: August 2025
2. With reference given to the requirements of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 which aspects of the proposal are relevant to/impact upon children’s rights?
The Plan is mainly a guide for how Scotland can build the skills needed for the offshore wind sector in the future. It does not create new services for anyone, including children and young people, but it has the potential to affect the systems that help young people learn, train, and get ready for work. Because of this, the Plan may influence some children’s rights in an indirect way.
The most relevant UNCRC requirements are:
-
Article 28 – Right to Education, and Article 29 – Goals of Education The Plan includes an objective to improve access to training across Scotland. This can help young people find clear pathways from school into further learning, training, and future jobs for offshore wind.
-
Article 27 – Adequate Standard of Living By supporting new job opportunities in offshore wind, the Plan may help families have more stable incomes in the future. This can contribute to children’s wellbeing and their right to a good standard of living.
Overall Impact
The Plan is expected to have a positive, indirect impact on children’s rights. It supports stronger education and training opportunities in the area of offshore wind, with young people in particular expected to benefit. It also aims to grow Scotland’s economy, and this has the potential to help improve opportunities for children and their families over time.
3. Please provide a summary of the evidence gathered which will be used to inform your decision-making and the content of the proposal
The Plan is based on information gathered by the Offshore Wind Skills Short-Life Working Group.
The main sources of evidence were:
-
Offshore Wind Skills Intelligence Report 2023 and Offshore Wind Skills Intelligence Report 2025, which explain what skills the industry needs
-
A brochure from Skills Development Scotland about careers in offshore wind (2024)
The Plan is a high level guide, so the group did not speak directly with children or young people. The information used helps us understand how young people learn, train and move towards work.
4. Further to the evidence described at ‘3’ have you identified any 'gaps' in evidence which may prevent determination of impact? If yes, please provide an explanation of how they will be addressed
The evidence used for this Plan is strong enough to help us understand the likely impacts at a high level.
We did not find any important gaps in the evidence about children’s rights or wellbeing.
The Plan uses national information about skills, jobs and training. This gives a good picture of how young people learn and move towards work.
More detailed evidence about children and young people would only be needed if new policies or programmes are created in the future. These would sit outside the scope of this Plan.
5. Analysis of Evidence
The information we looked at shows that the offshore wind sector is growing in Scotland. This means new workers will be needed in the future. This can affect children and young people because it may change the training and learning choices they have when they get older.
The reports we used say that Scotland needs more people with the right skills to work in offshore wind. They also say that schools, colleges, and employers should work together so young people get the skills needed to access these jobs. The reports also explain that it is important to help more young people study science, maths, and technology.[1][2]
We also looked at other plans the Scottish Government have published, including the National Strategy for Economic Transformation, Green Industrial Strategy, and Programme for Government 2025-26. These plans talk about fairness, including everyone, and creating good, green jobs for the future.[3][4][5]
All this information suggests that the Plan could help children and young people in an indirect but positive way. It may help them find better learning opportunities and good, long-lasting jobs when they join the workforce if they choose to work in offshore wind and related areas.
6. What changes (if any) have been made to the proposal as a result of this assessment?
No changes were needed after doing this assessment. The Plan is a high-level guide that explains shared goals and actions for different organisations. It does not create new services or programmes that have the potential to affect individuals and therefore children and young people.
Contact
Email: OffshoreWindHub@gov.scot