More than a quarter of oil and gas workers looking to quit the sector – survey

More than a quarter of oil and gas workers are looking to quit the sector, a new survey has found – with about half saying conditions in the industry have worsened in the past five years.

Oil and gas workers also want ministers at both Holyrood and Westminster to do more to help those in the sector find work in other areas, according to the research.

The overwhelming majority (95%) of the 400-plus oil and gas workers who were surveyed said the UK Government was not doing enough to help them find alternative employment – with 83% also levelling this charge against the Scottish Government.

The research, carried out by the charity Platform, which campaigns on climate justice issues, found only 16% of the workers questioned were currently happy in their jobs.

More than a quarter (27%) are actively looking to quit, the survey found, while 53% say conditions have worsened over the past five years.

Almost three-quarters (71%) of those surveyed said they would consider taking up a job in a different industry while 9% are considering retiring.

Workers who took part in the research complained of the “poor morale” in the sector, with one saying they felt employees are treated “like dirt”.

Another described how “salaries have declined and been stagnant for over a decade”, adding they felt that “staff have taken the brunt of this” rather than company executives.

Ruby Earle, worker transition lead at Platform, said that with oil and gas firms now looking to “squeeze every last drop of profit from the North Sea’s dwindling reserves” it was “no wonder workers are anxious about what lies ahead”.

She said: “It is oil and gas workers who have the skills and talent to build our energy future. But they need to be supported to do so.

“Instead of warm words from politicians, we need tangible action now.

“That means financial support and training for workers to move sectors, investment in domestic manufacturing to create good, well-paid unionised jobs, and an expansion of publicly-owned energy to make sure the wealth generated is shared.

“The UK and Scottish governments need to start listening to workers, not oil and gas lobbyists or their political cheerleaders.”

Almost nine out of 10 workers (88%) say there should be fully-funded retraining schemes to help them move to another sector while 89% want paid time-off for training.

A spokesperson for the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “We have taken rapid steps to deliver the next generation of good jobs for North Sea workers in a fair and prosperous transition, including making the biggest investment in offshore wind and carbon capture, and helping oil and gas workers access clean energy jobs through our ‘skills passport’ and training programmes.

“This comes alongside the launch of Great British Energy in Aberdeen, which has already announced £1 billion in domestic supply chains, unlocking significant investment and helping to create thousands of skilled jobs, progressing our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.”

Scottish Climate Action and Energy Secretary Gillian Martin said: “We’re clear in our support for a just transition for Scotland’s valued oil and gas sector, which recognises the maturity of the North Sea basin and is in line with our climate change commitments and energy security.

“Workers must be at the heart of the transition and the Scottish Government will support the energy workforce with the powers available to us.

“Through initiatives such as the just transition fund and the energy transition fund, we have already invested £120 million in the north-east’s transition to net zero to help create green jobs, support innovation and secure the highly-skilled workforce of the future.

“The Scottish Government, in partnership with the UK Government, has also recently (July) launched a new oil and gas transition training fund.

“The fund is supporting eligible oil and gas workers with funding for training to build the skills for Scotland’s evolving sustainable energy sectors. Tailored advice is provided to ensure applicants consider their options based on their current skillset, experience, aspirations and the local energy job market.”