The UK Government is setting up a new national programme to re-train ex-military personnel to work in the oil and gas industry.
The plans are designed to tackle the North Sea sector’s skills shortage and will be unveiled in Aberdeen today by coalition Cabinet ministers Vince Cable, Ed Davey and Michael Moore.
About 2,500 former troops have moved into the industry in the last two years, and the ministers want to encourage more, at a time when 30,000 armed forces personnel are being made redundant.
Action will also be taken to try to attract more women into the sector, with the North Sea requiring an additional 15,000 staff over the next five years.
The measures are part of the UK Government’s new 50-page industrial strategy for oil and gas, published today.
It will be revealed that a new centre for subsea and offshore engineering is being established at Newcastle University with £7million from the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
As well as plans to address the skills gap, the strategy will include a pledge to “maintain the fiscal regime” for the North Sea – raising hopes that ministers are ruling out any repeat of the shock £10billion tax raid which almost killed off investment in 2011.
UK fabrication yards, such as the one at Nigg in Ross-shire, are also to be given extra support to win major contracts.
Supply chain firms are to be encouraged to take advantage of publicly-backed finance schemes, such as the £1billion new Business Bank, while the strategy suggests a move to address requirements for firms to post huge performance bonds after winning contracts.
And a national centre of excellence for technology is to be set up to study complex reservoirs, cut drilling costs, improve offshore efficiency, enhance production and maintain infrastructure integrity.
Today the business secretary and Mr Davey, the energy secretary, will open a new offshore technology facility at Expro in Aberdeen.