OPITO’s Skills Landscape 2019 – 2025 report, part of the UKCS Workforce Dynamics Series, reveals advances in technology, internationalisation and the transition to a lower carbon future are accelerating changing skills demands in the oil and gas sector.
Built on four strategic components – Retain, Retrain, Recruit and Renew – the report is designed to help the sector develop an increasingly flexible, multi-skilled and technology-enabled workforce.
A route map has been developed to bring organisations together to deliver on targeted actions. These collective activities are the starting point to delivering the strategic components and will change, adapt and develop over time as OPITO continues to engage with the workforce, industry employers, OPITO approved Centres, governments, trade bodies, trade unions and educational institutions.
Key findings from the report include:
- Around 80% of the current UK oil and gas workforce will still be working within the industry in 2025, taking into account natural attrition and retirement. The opportunity to retain these skills, as well as upskill and reskill the workforce as the industry adapts to new technologies and different ways of working, is substantial
- In just six years, it is estimated the industry needs to attract 25,000 new people and 4,500 of those will be in completely new roles that don’t currently exist in areas such as data science, automation and new materials
- 28% of people’s time is currently spent on repetitive, transactional activities which are more likely to become automated overtime. Upskilling and reskilling the current workforce will enable people to carry out their role more efficiently and prepare them for different tasks and responsibilities
- There is a need to upskill the sector’s leadership and management functions to ensure informed decision making with respect to technology adoption and change management
- The way in which the workforce wants to learn and develop new skills is changing. New training methods such as simulation and augmented reality are becoming the preferred learning methods.
For further information or to speak to the OPITO team about the route map of actions please email externalaffairs@opito.com.