The United Nations has named 2021–2030 the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development with goals to ‘strengthen the international cooperation needed to develop the scientific research and innovative technologies that can connect ocean science with the needs of society’ (IOC 2019 The science we need for the ocean we want: the United Nations decade of ocean science for sustainable development (2021–2030) (Paris) p 24). Important actions that have been identified in support of sustainable development goals include capacity-building, training, and education. This includes educational opportunities for ocean-based renewable energy development in support of a healthy planet and ocean. Offshore wind is experiencing rapid development globally and, while the U.S. offshore wind market is still nascent, it is on the brink of exponential growth based on large cost reductions driven largely by European development and technology advances. Growth is also expected in wave and tidal energy with significant opportunities identified for various distributed markets through the Powering the Blue Economy™ initiative, with longer-term implications for expansion at the utility scale (LiVecchi et al 2019 Powering the blue economy; exploring opportunities for marine renewable energy in maritime markets p 207). In order to expedite progress and maximize benefits to the national, state, and local economies, these development actions will require a broad, diverse, and appropriately trained workforce. The ocean-based renewable energy workforce needs engineers and scientists to develop cost-effective technologies, as well as trade and maritime workers to eventually deploy the technologies at scale. In the United States, educational institutions, state governments, and private developers are taking action to understand job skills and capability requirements and to develop educational and training programs to meet offshore workforce needs; most are focused on offshore wind power, with gaining interest in marine energy. This article explores the workforce requirements of the growing ocean-based renewable energy industry and the current state of education and training programs to meet those requirements in order to identify gaps and make recommendations for further workforce development activities and initiatives. An international view needs to be adopted that incorporates the education and skill needs of early-stage marine energy technologies and evolving offshore wind technologies together with more market-ready offshore renewable energy markets. By accelerating educational development opportunities in ocean-based renewable energy, these growing blue economy markets can deliver significant economic and social benefits.

联合国已将 2021-2030 年命名为海洋科学促进可持续发展十年，其目标是“加强开展科学研究和创新技术所需的国际合作，将海洋科学与社会需求联系起来”（IOC 2019 The science we对我们想要的海洋的需求：联合国海洋科学促进可持续发展十年（2021-2030）（巴黎）第 24 页）。已确定的支持可持续发展目标的重要行动包括能力建设、培训和教育。这包括基于海洋的可再生能源开发的教育机会，以支持健康的地球和海洋。海上风电在全球范围内快速发展，而美国海上风电市场仍处于起步阶段，由于主要由欧洲发展和技术进步推动的大量成本降低，它正处于指数​​增长的边缘。波浪能和潮汐能也有望增长，通过 Powering the Blue Economy™ 计划为各种分布式市场确定了重大机遇，对公用事业规模的扩张具有长期影响 (LiVecchi等2019 为蓝色经济赋能；在海事市场探索海洋可再生能源的机会，第 207 页）。为了加快进步并使国家、州和地方经济的利益最大化，这些发展行动将需要广泛、多样化和经过适当培训的劳动力。以海洋为基础的可再生能源劳动力需要工程师和科学家开发具有成本效益的技术，以及贸易和海事工人最终大规模部署这些技术。在美国，教育机构、州政府和私人开发商正在采取行动了解工作技能和能力要求，并制定教育和培训计划以满足离岸劳动力需求；大多数都专注于海上风电，对海洋能源越来越感兴趣。本文探讨了不断增长的海洋可再生能源行业的劳动力需求以及满足这些要求的教育和培训计划的现状，以便找出差距并为进一步的劳动力发展活动和举措提出建议。需要采用一种国际观点，将早期海洋能源技术和不断发展的海上风电技术的教育和技能需求与更适合市场的海上可再生能源市场结合起来。通过加快海洋可再生能源的教育发展机会，这些不断增长的蓝色经济市场可以带来显着的经济和社会效益。