New contractor businesses started by oil and gas professionals leaving permanent employment are the reason behind the loss of core staff at North Sea operators and oil and gas services firms.
This is according to the 19th Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce Oil and Gas Survey, which also highlights that a third of oil and gas services companies are planning to increase their contractor headcounts over the next year. This is in response to renewed investment and activity in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).
“Of course the good news is that the [oil and gas] sector…continues to see record levels of activity,” explains Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce chief executive Robert Collier. “We are reporting our highest ever reported level of companies recruiting in the contracting sector.
“This brings challenges around how vacancies will be filled but we fully expect the sector to meet these challenges,” adds Collier.
Half of all the respondents to the survey have lost core staff during 2013, with retirement and workers leaving to become self-employed contractors given as the most common reasons. The skills shortage in the sector is becoming so bad that 31% are hiring from outside the oil and gas sector, up from only 18% during the previous survey period.
Operators identified specific ‘problem occupations’, where they were experiencing particular difficulties in hiring, especially at managerial and professional levels. These include drilling-related occupations, subsurface and reservoir personnel, and petroleum and pipeline engineers.
Oil and gas services firms cited their ‘problem occupations’ as engineers with experience of working offshore, alongside specialists with solids control, software engineering and remotely operated vehicle piloting skills.
The report also looks at the potential impact of an independent Scotland on the UK’s oil and gas industry.
Kenny Paton, oil and gas partner at law firm Bond Dickinson, the main sponsor of the report, explains: “More and more of our clients in oil and gas and other sectors are raising questions about the implications of the result of the referendum. This report provides more evidence that oil and gas businesses are concerned about the lack of information.”
Paton concludes: “The main concerns that we are being approached about involve personal and corporate tax issues and fiscal policies, but a yes vote could impact companies in a number of ways that they need to factor in to their business planning.”