Education Holds Key to Future of UK Offshore Industry

An 'unprecedented' increase in workload levels is creating a skills shortage in the offshore marine-construction industry, according to The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA).And this is only set to grow as demand outstrips supply, creating more of a need for highly skilled staff.

The Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation in the UK (OPITO) agrees. It says the 'feedstock' of staff has to grow, despite current schemes to attract new recruits.

"Like every industry, when supply outstrips demand, there is an immediate shortage created. The key here is to increase the feedstock," Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation chief executive David Doig says.

The IMCA says serious skills shortages have been a cause of concern at a number of offshore companies, which are 'experiencing significant challenges in recruiting sufficient trained and skilled personnel for projects around the world.'

It says companies are now being held back on desired growth and the ability to deliver services as a result.

IMCA chief executive Hugh Williams says he believes better education holds the key to tackling skills shortages, with more effort being given to mathematics and science at all levels of education.

"The industry [has] the same problem as all branches of manufacturing and construction in the UK and many parts of the world at the moment – a lack of support for mathematics and science. This leads to a shortfall of suitable candidates for the industry from top to bottom," Williams says.

The Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation has been working to increase the stock of workers through The Upstream Modern Apprentice scheme, a pan-industry scheme currently recruiting 115 apprentices which will take the number of new entrants to about 775 since it began in 2001.

Large numbers of company-specific initiatives have also been set up to attract recruits including using skilled people from other industries and the OPITO free skills testing portal to attract major contractors.

And research from the UK's leading representative organisation for the oil and gas industry – Oil and Gas UK – suggests the number of people entering the industry is increasing, particularly the number of women, which was up to 1,800 in 2006.

But some areas are still causing concern – the industry is having trouble attracting the under 24 and 30 to 34-year-old age bracket into rigging and crane-operating occupations.

By Ozge Ibrahim