Around 10,000 new posts needed for Oil and Gas industry over next twenty years
Around 10,000 new roles need to be created in the oil and gas industry over the next two decades to keep up with the changing demands of the sector, according to a new report.
Energy skills body Opito said more than 40,000 new recruits will be required.
A quarter of those will be needed to fill emerging digital roles that do not exist today in areas such as data analytics, data science, robotics and remote operations.
The research, undertaken in partnership with Robert Gordon University's (RGU) Oil and Gas Institute, also found more than 80,000 workers are likely to retire or leave the sector for other reasons by 2035.
It means the workforce will total 130,000 compared to the current 170,000.
John McDonald, chief executive officer of Opito, said: As the industry emerges from the downturn, it is crucial that we take a longer term look at the future UK oil and gas skills requirements.
A new skills strategy will help us to take action now to prepare for emerging roles and ensure the existing workforce is being given opportunities to up-skill.
Whilst total employment will fall over the next two decades, this will be a more gradual process than the sharp hit experienced over the last three years.
If the industry can work together to achieve ambitions around production and energy diversification, tens of thousands more roles can be safeguarded and our industry will continue to be one of the key industrial sectors in the UK for years to come.''
Professor Paul de Leeuw, director of the RGU Oil and Gas Institute, said: Technology, innovation and the transition to a lower carbon future will re-shape the sector.
With over 40,000 people potentially entering the industry over the next 20 years and with a substantial proportion of the workforce to be up-skilled, there is a critical role for training providers, vocational institutes and universities to help future-proof the sector and to ensure the UK retains its reputation as a leading energy basin."