Recruitment Top of Offshore Agenda

Offshore Europe's Education day kicked off with a bang today, attracting thousands of students to stands where employers hoped to inspire an interest in offshore careers.

The last day of the conference is dedicated to recruitment and careers which is particularly important at a time when demand for engineers, petrochemical and other technical staff has increased but retention has decreased, according to official reports by the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA).

Earlier in the week a scheme designed to find the next generation of scientists and engineers returned to Westhill Academy in Aberdeen after it was launched at Offshore Europe six years ago.

The Lab in a Lorry scheme consists of three mobile science laboratories designed to encourage 11-14 year olds to take up science.

Founding partners of the scheme include the UK's Institute of Physics and oil and gas technology provider Schlumberger.

Reported by Ozge Ibrahim