The first ever National Oil & Gas Skills Week gets underway today, kick-starting a four-day celebration of one of the UK’s leading industries.
Fergus Ewing, Scotland’s Energy, Enterprise and Tourism Minister will launch the event at a business breakfast at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) in front of an audience of around 180 senior oil and gas leaders from across the north-east.
It will also see the unveiling of a new centralised portal for oil and gas skills information which has been created by the industry as part of HM Government’s Oil and Gas Industrial Strategy which seeks to maximise the economic production of the UK’s offshore resources.
Mr Ewing said: “The oil and gas sector is vital to Scotland and we must have the skilled workforce required to strengthen our overall ambition as a major centre for energy activity.
“To do this means we need industry to work with our colleges and universities to ensure they are delivering the skilled workforce that they need and deliver the best value out of the public investment that we provide for the training of the current and future workforce.
“As a sector that is now estimated to support 450,000 jobs across the UK, of which around 50 per cent are in Scotland I am delighted that industry and stakeholders are working together to ensure that the skills issue within the industry does not impact future growth.”
Around 50 different events will take place across the UK from November 11-14th as part of National Oil & Gas Skills Week, including dozens in Aberdeen City and Shire as well as Glasgow, Edinburgh and Fort William.
Upwards of 75 companies are supporting the initiative by hosting free events showcasing the innovative jobs, techniques and technologies being used to push the boundaries of exploration and production at venues from Aberdeen to London.
This includes a Doors Open Day in Aberdeen on Thursday November 13th where school pupils, graduates, working professionals and members of the public will get a rare opportunity to see behind the scenes at a number of companies operating in the region.
As part of the push to encourage people to consider the industry, Energy Voice spoke to Owen Buchan, who took part in the Opito apprenticeship scheme.
The 20-year-old signed up at the age of 16 and now works as an electrical technician for Apache North Sea.
He speaks passionately alongside Opito Skills director Morven Spalding about choosing a career in the oil and gas industry.
