Kirsty Blackman said the UK could experience a skill shortage. This could affect the government’s plans to expand the renewable energy sector.
The government must do more to support oil and gas workers in the North Sea during the transition of the energy industry from carbon-based fuels to renewable energy, lawmakers have heard.
Blackman warned that this could lead to a critical lack of skills in her constituency. This could affect the government’s plans to expand the UK’s renewable energy sector.
She said: “We’re at a turning point. The risk is that these very mobile, highly paid oil and gas workers go abroad.”
The MP explained that these workers have a high level of skill transfer and the excavation process is barely changing all over the world, allowing them to find jobs with high pay overseas, such as Dubai.
According to Blackman, this scenario is not hypothetical. The response to the Energy Transition Survey stated that “a significant proportion of these people are moving overseas either in a company or in other companies.”
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The MP of Aberdeen North has urged the labor government to do more to protect jobs and communities during this transition phase.
She said only 25% of offshore oil and gas jobs are in northeastern Scotland, highlighting that employment transition is an issue affecting all parts of the UK.
It’s difficult to find skills
Blackman added that potential departures for skilled North Sea workers are difficult to exchange.
She said: “Companies have a hard time finding people with the skills they need, whether it’s oil and gas or offshore renewables. People who build offshore renewables work in a 3-to-3 shift, just like oil and gas workers.
“It’s really hard to adapt to life in a 3-on-3 shift. It’s not easy for workers to change their lives and take care of their children if they have a family.
The SNP MP also expressed concern that after seeing their relatives become redundant in the oil and gas industry, it could discourage younger generations from pursuing similar fates, pursuing engineering careers, and exacerbate recruitment challenges.
Grangemas
Lawmakers across the political spectrum reflected Blackman’s concerns about protecting jobs and supporting the community during the transition to renewables.
“The fate of skilled workers in the oil and gas sector depends on balance, not as much as Grangemouth in my constituency. It was once known as the Boomtown of Scotland. Grangemouth has been improving oil for over a century,” Leishman said.
On July 26, 2022, Gwynt Y Mor of RWE, the world’s second largest offshore wind farm, located eight miles offshore in Liverpool Bay off North Wales. Benberchar/PA wire
A Labour MP warned that “employment is lost and the new energy industry is not ready.”
plan
On behalf of the government, Energy Minister Michael Shanks said:
“My driving objective in my role is to ensure that I don’t make the same mistakes in the wider North Sea sector.”
Shanks added that the government’s “clean power mission” is not only to decarbonize the grid, but also to create jobs for the manufacturing and energy industries of the community that members mentioned.
The debate came before the Prime Minister, who announced that Kiel Prime Minister Stage had announced a £300 million investment in the offshore wind supply chain.
Priority said Thursday: “Planning for change means winning the race for the clean energy work of the future.
“That’s why I am making much-needed investments in the domestic offshore wind supply chain, enhancing security and creating good jobs for our welders, electricians and engineers.”
