Black Sea offshore wind: the state estimates 14,000 jobs and starts from zero training courses

Romania does not yet have a single wind turbine in the Black Sea, but since the end of July it has a plan on paper for the people who are supposed to build and maintain them. The Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Labour, Family, Youth and Social Solidarity have approved, by joint order, the Action Plan on delivering vocational training programmes for developing the local workforce needed for the supply chain and for the construction of offshore wind power plants. The document comes in the same year in which the state also rewrote the rules under which employers may bring in foreign workers for shortage occupations, which makes the question “where do the people come from” a very concrete one for this sector.

The plan is the obligation that Article 49 of Law No. 121/2024 on offshore wind energy had placed on the Ministry of Energy. It allocates no money and opens no courses. It takes stock: which trades will be needed, how many people, when, who is responsible and from which funds this might be paid for.

Read also: Romania wants local parts in the Black Sea wind farms, but does not yet know what factories it has

What it changes in practice

The figure that structures the whole document is the workforce estimate. The plan builds it across three time horizons, matched to the sector’s development stages. In the short term, 2025-2027, demand is concentrated on field surveys, design, engineering and port logistics: about 1,000 skilled workers, 500 technicians and 300 engineers, roughly 1,800 people in total. In the medium term, 2027-2032, once construction and installation begin, the figures rise to about 3,000 workers, 1,500 technicians and 700 engineers, roughly 5,200. In the long term, 2032-2050, when the emphasis shifts to operation and maintenance, the plan estimates about 4,000 workers, 2,000 technicians and 1,000 engineers, roughly 7,000 people. Cumulatively, by 2035 the estimated total is around 14,000 jobs.

The document states that these values were set “in a conservative manner” compared with the broader estimates in specialist sources, refer to cumulative net employment and are indicative. They do not include a workforce rotation model, nor assumptions about bringing in staff from other sectors or from outside Romania. The source cited is the World Bank’s 2024 report “Offshore Wind Roadmap for Romania”, which spoke of 10,000-15,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2035.

The second important figure is the certification target: at least 500 people certified through GWO-compliant programmes by 2030. GWO, the Global Wind Organisation, is the non-profit founded by turbine manufacturers and operators, among them Vestas, Siemens Gamesa and Ørsted, which sets the international safety and competence standards in the wind industry. Typical GWO certifications cover workplace safety, first aid and resuscitation, working at height or at depth, electrical risk prevention and the handling of specific equipment, and they are valid for 24 months. The target of 500 people corresponds, according to the plan, to an estimated installed capacity of about 1 to 1.5 gigawatts by 2030, with the prospect of about 3 gigawatts by 2035.

Geographically, the plan concentrates the effort in Dobruja. Constanța and Mangalia are treated as priority training hubs, “owing to the existing infrastructure and their proximity to the areas with potential for developing offshore wind farms”, with the possibility of later extension to Eforie, Tulcea, Galați, Brăila and Giurgiu. Practical training through cooperation agreements with Bulgaria is also envisaged, in Varna, Balchik, Burgas, Ruse and Sozopol.

Institutionally, the order divides responsibilities. The Ministry of Energy coordinates, mobilises funding and monitors progress. The Ministry of Labour is responsible for authorising the training programmes that are not GWO-certified and for workforce integration. The Ministry of Education and Research coordinates the adaptation of curricula and cooperation with universities and technological high schools. The Competent Authority for the Regulation of Offshore Petroleum Operations in the Black Sea, ACROO, validates the training and certification standards for offshore occupations and audits compliance with health, safety and environmental requirements. The plan insists that this structure “is not a purely advisory one”, but has the authority to adopt binding decisions on training, certification and resource allocation.

What has changed compared with the previous situation

Until now there was no document linking the development of offshore wind farms to the training of the people meant to work in them. Law No. 121/2024 had established the framework for licensing the perimeters and for exploitation, and Article 49 had required an action plan for the workforce. The order of 31 July 2026 is the fulfilment of that obligation, two years after the law was adopted.

The most direct admission in the document is that the starting point is close to zero: “at present there are no programmes in Romania dedicated exclusively to the offshore wind sector”. There is, however, a base the plan counts on: human resources development centres in onshore wind, the Maritime University of Constanța, “Ovidius” University, technological high schools with energy, mechanical, marine or construction profiles, plus industrial capacity in metal structures, the naval sector and port activities at Constanța and Mangalia.

The list of key occupations, contained in the first annex to the plan, shows how specialised the field is. Among the 18 positions listed are offshore wind turbine technician with GWO certification, electromechanical engineer for the marine environment, offshore crane operator, industrial diver, welder of maritime metal structures including underwater welding, submarine cable technician, marine geotechnical engineer, high-voltage cable technician, HVDC and HVAC commissioning engineer, SCADA engineer and cybersecurity specialist, drone operator for technical inspections of offshore structures, and GWO instructor. The list is declared open and will be updated in line with consultations with the industry.

The funding model also marks a change of tone. The plan states explicitly that “state budget allocations will be complementary and limited, with priority for co-financing and logistical support, not as the main source of funding”. The priority sources are European funds, in particular the European Social Fund Plus, together with Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, InvestEU, financing from the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and the EBRD, and private contributions from investors. Applications are to be submitted through public-private consortia formed of ministries, universities and investors. It is a different approach from that of other recent energy programmes, such as the amendment of the energy law for prosumers, which operated directly with national mechanisms.

Also new is the emphasis on inclusion, with provisions dedicated to women and to young people who are not in education, employment or training, the NEETs category: mentoring programmes, dedicated scholarships, information campaigns in coastal communities and “minimum participation quotas” in the pilot programmes.

The timetable set out is multiannual. By 2026 the national skills needs analysis and the framework contract for public-private partnerships should be completed. In 2026-2027 the pilot programmes should be launched and the first GWO certifications obtained at national level. By 2028-2030 come the expansion of the programmes, the signing of the PPP agreements, the publication of an interactive map of training providers and the equipping of the Constanța and Mangalia hubs. From 2032 onwards, the consolidation of the network of centres, the creation of a National Offshore Skills Network by 2035 and periodic surveys on graduate placement, once every two years. The plan states that this timetable is indicative and will be aligned with the progress of the offshore perimeter licensing process.

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