North East MSP calls for 'offshore training passports'
The certification would make it easier for workers to move from oil and gas to the renewables sector
North East MSP Mercedes Villalba is pushing for the introduction of offshore training passports.
Whilst recent talk of vaccine passports might mean those words strike fear, the Labour politician is actually looking to make things more accessible offshore.
Offshore Training Passports would allow all oil and gas workers to move freely between offshore and onshore energy sectors with a standardisation of certification across roles and sectors.
Villalba has suggested the Scottish Government's ÂŁ500 Million just transition fund for the North East and Moray could provide the money required for the task.
Climate groups such as Friends of the Earth Scotland and representative bodies like the RMT Union are backing the idea.
And the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon last week said that the Government would be willing to meet with Villabla and stakeholders to discuss the proposal.
Scottish Labour North East MSP, Mercedes Villalba, said: “I am clear that we must take real steps to tackling the climate emergency, but I also believe that we need to deliver a just transition for communities in the North East which rely on the oil and gas sector for jobs and the local economy.
"The Scottish Government cannot make the same mistakes as the Tories did with deindustrialisation in the 1980s, leaving whole communities facing high levels of unemployment and economic devastation.
"An offshore training passport would allow all oil and gas workers to move freely between offshore and onshore energy sectors with a standardisation of certification across roles and sectors.
"Its introduction would also enjoy broad support from climate campaigners and trade unions and should form a central part of the Scottish Government’s Just Transition Fund for the North East.
"I look forward to taking up the First Minister’s offer of meeting with the Scottish Government alongside climate campaigners and workforce representatives to explore how we can deliver a just transition for the communities which I represent in the North East”.