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SKILLS & TRAINING
By Tsvetana Paraskova
Training and development for the future of energy Training of talent and development and upgrading of people’s skills have always been an important part in the energy industry. These days, training and development are even more important than before because the energy industry is on the cusp of fundamental changes.
Digitalisation in the oil and gas industry and the net-zero emission pledges from many governments call for new sets of skills in the energy sector. The industry looks to attract and train talent with digitalisation skills and skills needed for the net-zero commitments.
and hydrogen industries will rely heavily on many of the current skillsets in the oil and gas industry such as geologists, project managers, and a wide variety of engineers and fabricators. “A carefully managed transition will help to ensure a prosperous future for the communities affected and that the UK economy retains people with these key skillsets, as demand for their current roles in the oil and gas sector wanes with production decline, so that they can help unlock these vital emerging low carbon sectors,” the Deal says. Under the deal, the sector will map future energy skills demand, develop all-energy training and standards, and create an integrated people and skills plan, with measurable objectives, to support its transition and diversification.
The growing digitalisation drive in energy leaves a skills gap that needs to be addressed.
Skills Needed for Net-Zero The UK North Sea Transition Deal, for example, is expected to support up to 40,000 high-quality direct and indirect supply chain jobs in the UK’s industrial heartlands. One of the key commitments in the deal, People & Skills, contains actions and measures to facilitate the reskilling of existing parts of the oil and gas workforce. According to the UK government and sector associations, many of the skills present in the sector are also transferrable across the wider energy sector. Offshore renewables, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS),
www.ogv.energy I August 2021
The UK government, for its part, will continue to champion the role of the sector and its workforce in the energy transition, supporting work on its People and Skills Plan. The government will continue to prioritise support for people in high carbon sectors of the economy, which need to transition, via the Green Jobs Taskforce.
Mass Skilled Workforce Needed for UK Net-Zero Strategy
According to a survey of more than 400 professionals from the UK energy system, from renewables to oil and gas, the UK will need mass skilled workforce to achieve its net-zero strategy. The seventh annual Energy Barometer report from the Energy Institute (EI) showed in July that it will be skilled people that will make net-zero happen.
‘The Energy Barometer 2021: the net-zero skills issue’ found that most UK energy professionals are already training for net-zero and considering a move this decade. Professionals agree that the push of a skills strategy, from schools and up, is needed, alongside the pull of a stable energy policy.
