By Katrine Bussey,Peter A Walker

Copyright insider

More than a quarter of oil and gas workers are looking to quit the sector, a new survey has found – with about half saying conditions in the industry have worsened in the past five years.

They also want ministers at both Holyrood and Westminster to do more to help those in the sector find work in other areas, according to the research.

The overwhelming majority (95%) of the 400-plus oil and gas workers who were surveyed said the UK Government was not doing enough to help them find alternative employment – with 83% also levelling this charge against the Scottish Government.

The research, carried out by climate charity Platform, found only 16% of the workers questioned were currently happy in their jobs.

More than a quarter (27%) are actively looking to quit, while 53% say conditions have worsened over the past five years.

Almost three quarters (71%) said they would consider taking up a job in a different industry, while 9% are considering retiring.

Workers who took part in the research complained of the “poor morale” in the sector, with one saying they felt employees are treated “like dirt”. Another described how “salaries have declined and been stagnant for over a decade”, adding they felt that “staff have taken the brunt of this” rather than company executives.

Ruby Earle, worker transition lead at Platform, said that with oil and gas firms now looking to “squeeze every last drop of profit from the North Sea’s dwindling reserves” it was “no wonder workers are anxious about what lies ahead”.

She continued: “It is oil and gas workers who have the skills and talent to build our energy future. But they need to be supported to do so.

“Instead of warm words from politicians, we need tangible action now.

“That means financial support and training for workers to move sectors, investment in domestic manufacturing to create good, well-paid unionised jobs, and an expansion of publicly-owned energy to make sure the wealth generated is shared.

“The UK and Scottish governments need to start listening to workers, not oil and gas lobbyists or their political cheerleaders.”

Almost nine out of 10 workers (88%) say there should be fully-funded retraining schemes to help them move to another sector while 89% want paid time-off for training.

A spokesperson for the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “We have taken rapid steps to deliver the next generation of good jobs for North Sea workers in a fair and prosperous transition, including making the biggest investment in offshore wind and carbon capture, and helping oil and gas workers access clean energy jobs through our ‘skills passport’ and training programmes.

“This comes alongside the launch of Great British Energy in Aberdeen, which has already announced £1bn in domestic supply chains, unlocking significant investment and helping to create thousands of skilled jobs, progressing our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.”

The Scottish Government has also been contacted for comment.

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