Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) will survey its members to help measure the overall diversity of the offshore workforce, as it works to improve inclusion and representation.
The member body said the “pivotal” survey will be sent to over 400 OEUK member companies and organisations with the aim of developing a more sophisticated understanding of the demographics of the workforce than has been previously available.
It also reaffirmed that achieving greater diversity and inclusivity (D&I) within the sector is “essential” to support energy security and the transition to greener energies.
The anonymised and confidential survey, developed with support from OEUK’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Group, will help the organisation and the task group identify the actions required to improve representation among currently under-represented groups.
OEUK’s workforce engagement and skills manager, Alix Thom, said: “We are at a significant moment of change within our industry. As our world – and our members – turn their focus to the energy transition and achieving net zero, we have work to do to cement our role as a leader and enabler in the quest for a more sustainable future.
“Put simply, to get to that point, we cannot just do what we have done until now.”
Ms Thom called for “innovation, disruptive thinking, and brave decision-making” to support both net zero and commitments to greater inclusiveness.
An OEUK-backed survey last year found that the sector was decades away from gender parity, and that groups including Black, LGBTQ+ and disabled workers scored the industry below the wider average on its D&I progress.
The “Building a Baseline” report, developed in partnership with the Robert Gordon University, developed a “D&I index”, in which 1,600 survey respondents gave an average score on the industry’s progress of 7.1 out of 10.
Earlier this year OEUK also released web-based toolkits for companies to use to record their current progress and develop future plans.
Ms Thom said the latest analysis would help offer an up-to-date picture of the demographics of the offshore sector that is “more sophisticated” than previous studies.
“Only by understanding what our workforce looks like now can we benchmark against and learn from other sectors, as well as measure our progress,” she added.
“Our member participation is key to developing a clear picture of the demographics of the sector and the quality of the results will depend on a good response.”
Submissions will remain open for 10 weeks, and results are expected in Q4 2022.
“It is recognised that many member companies do not currently collect all the information that the survey asks for and will have to collect it ahead of completing their submission; this has been reflected in the length of time the survey will remain open,” Ms Thom continued.
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