The importance of the north-east to the worldwide oil and gas industry was underlined again yesterday.
Oilfield engineering group Aker Solutions announced that it wants to add 500 posts to its workforce here, making it one of the largest employers in the area.
The company already employs 2,500 people in the Aberdeen area.
A recruitment drive will take place over the next two years in response to high activity in key oil and gas regions across the globe.
Norwegian firm Aker is involved in subsea and drilling technology and in maintaining and upgrading oil platforms.
Most of the jobs will be based in Aberdeen, where Aker has already taken on 350 people in eight months, but the company has also previously announced plans to bring in another 300 people at Portlethen-based Aker Qserv.
Matt Corbin, head of Aker’s subsea business in the UK, said the group wanted to continue adding to its north-east workforce because of the key role the region played in its operations the world over.
We continue to see tremendous growth, both locally and globally, and we believe we are going to need a significant amount of people to meet our customers’ needs.
“We have a history and a legacy in Aberdeen, and outside of Norway it is our biggest hub. The skills set both we and Aberdeen offer is pretty much unrivalled — the city still has a big part to play in the future of oil and gas.”
Aker’s announcement comes after Maersk Oil announced plans to add 200 people to its Aberdeen workforce.
Mr Corbin accepted that skilled workers were in high demand in Aberdeen and that it would be a challenge to recruit so many people, but he added: “The Aberdeen market has always been stretched in terms of resources but it has always delivered.
“We have been very successful in recruiting in recent months and years, and we want to double our graduate recruitment next year.”
The announcement came as Alex Salmond visited Aker’s Norwegian headquarters in Oslo, to meet the company’s president and chief financial officer Leif Borge.
The first minister said: “Aker Solutions is one of Norway’s flagship companies, with extensive global operations and already a huge presence in Scotland. I was pleased to meet Mr Borge and his colleagues and greatly encouraged by their ongoing commitment to Aberdeen. I am delighted that they now plan further investment and job creation in the city, delivering a great boost for the north-east and the wider Scottish economy.”
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