Uchenna Izundu
International Editor
ABERDEEN, Nov. 7 -- An acute lack of skilled engineers and technologists is threatening the development of the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), speakers warned Nov. 7 at the UK Offshore Operators' Association (UKOOA) industry conference in Aberdeen.
The estimated 27 billion bbl of oil and gas remaining in the mature province will require £300 billion to produce, and engineers will be needed to develop innovative solutions to extract the oil and gas in difficult areas, UKOOA Chief Executive Malcolm Webb said. As one solution, Webb urged participants to recruit more women into the industry to help ease the skills shortage. Women currently comprise about 5% of the offshore workforce.
Oil and gas industry skills body, OPITO, will work closely with the UK petroleum industry to create a fast-track skills program and develop a sustainable workforce. It will focus on creating upskill programs for new entrants and existing workers, drawing up labour development frameworks for specific sectors, and launching a communications program to inform potential recruits that the petroleum industry offers exciting and stimulating career paths.
Ian Dundas, head of the Industry Leadership Team's Workforce Capacity and Capability Workgroup, said: "While we are confident that the supply chain is using everything at its disposal to meet the demand for plant and equipment we are not seeing the same use of industry-developed solutions to alleviate the skills issues. If we are to develop the tools, we must be certain that they are appropriate and relevant and that the industry will use them to deliver results."
Over the last 12 months, OPITO and its industry partners have invested more than £2 million in developing new pan-industry skills solutions through the accelerated projects.
According to Ian McCafferty, chief economic advisor at the trade body Confederation of Business Industry, the UK is seriously struggling to develop a skilled workforce compared with other nations in Europe, and in China and India. Although the UKCS has been at the forefront in developing innovative technology to produce oil and gas, it cannot be complacent, said Tom Botts, Shell's executive vice-president for Europe. "Ten years ago the depth of wells was limited because they were drilled like telescopes—inserting pipes of decreasing diameter within each other as the well deepened. Today we've found solutions using expanding tubulars that expand the pipe in the ground, allowing for deeper and productive wells," he added.
Over the past 10 years, fewer young people have opted for sciences at A-level, the exams that students take to enter UK universities, and they have shunned the subject at degree level. Since the oil price crash in the late 80's, the general public has viewed the industry as one in decline, and this perception has been difficult to dispel despite recent record energy prices.
Energy companies in Aberdeen have begun visiting schools to share information with students and teachers about career progression and their operations to persuade young people to study the sciences.
