Wednesday 26 June 2013

Offshore Worker Numbers Continue to Grow in UK Oil and Gas

Oil & Gas UK’s 2013 Offshore Demographics Report published today (26June) reveals that the UK’s core offshore workforce, which comprises those who spend over 100 nights a year offshore, grew in 2012 to 25,760, the largest since the first report in 2006. Almost 57,000 people travelled offshore in total, nine per cent more than in 2011.

The report shows that of those who travelled offshore in 2012:

• the average age is 41.1 years, similar to previous years
• the number of people aged under 30 years grew by 14 per cent compared with 2011
• over 80 per cent is of British nationality
• three and half times more people work for non-operators than operators
• 4 per cent were female

Oil & Gas UK’s employment and skills issues manager, Dr Alix Thom, said: “The UK oil and gas industry is growing steadily with record investment in new developments forecast this year, mounting interest in exploring for new reserves and fields expected to produce into the 2040s. Hundreds of thousands of people are employed across the supply chain in the UK and the number travelling offshore for work is the highest since Oil & Gas UK produced the first Demographics Report in 2006.

“The volume of anticipated activity shows that the UK oil and gas sector is an exciting and promising place to build a career. For the industry, understanding the workforce profile is more important than ever if companies are to meet the growing and long-term demand for people with the right experience and skills.

“Oil & Gas UK is actively developing and helping to drive forward a number of programmes to sustain the supply of workers throughout the industry, such as improving the perception of the industry as a place to build a career, helping to encourage the uptake of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects in schools, and supporting the transition of skilled people in the mid-career phase from other sectors.”

Ends

Notes to Editors

1. Oil & Gas UK is the leading representative organisation for the UK offshore oil and gas industry. Its growing membership, which comprises oil and gas producers and contractor companies, now numbers more than 350.
2. The Offshore Demographics Report is produced using data from the Vantage Personnel On Board (POB) system, a database that tracks all offshore travellers in the UK and provides insight into past and potential future changes in the offshore workforce.
3. The report is available to download here.