ECITB Census reveals challenges facing oil and gas

The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board’s (ECITB) Workforce Census sectoral report offers a comprehensive overview of the oil and gas workforce, having gathered data on more than 33 000 workers.

The report highlights that although the share of the oil and gas sector across the ECI has decreased – from 36.7% of the industry’s workforce to 35.2% – this does not reflect a loss of workers as the workforce has still grown in recent years from 30 700 to 33 350.

The ECITB’s Labour Forecasting Tool predicts the sector’s share of the overall ECI workforce could fall to 20% by 2035 due to a combination of a rise in other sectors and a decline in production. The tool also forecasts that the oil and gas workforce may begin to decline from 2026.

However, the Census report states that even with this predicted decline in workforce numbers, the oil and gas sector may still face hiring challenges, particularly for site-based roles, due to a high proportion of workers nearing or past retirement age.

The report shows the sector has the oldest workforce in the ECI, with only 12% of workers under 30. Workers over 50 make up 41% of the oil and gas workforce, with those aged over 60 making up 18%, up from 12% in 2021 and higher than the ECI average of 13.9%.

The report reveals that with 14% of its workforce being women, the sector lags three percentage points behind the industry average and has shown no significant improvement since 2021.

These findings reinforce the career motivation study – Inspiring Directions – the ECITB published in February 2024, which revealed the oil and gas industry is struggling to appeal to the general population, and in particular young people and women, to help plug looming workforce and skills shortages.

ECITB Chief Executive Andrew Hockey said: “The report highlights that transitioning the oil and gas workforce into sectors such as renewables, hydrogen, carbon capture and nuclear will be essential to help meet the country’s net-zero commitments.

“However, the age profile of the sector showcased in our report raises concerns about the feasibility of transferring oil and gas workers to these sectors beyond the short term. On current trends, it is unlikely the number of younger people joining the sector will grow sufficiently to compensate for those taking retirement in the coming years.

“The ECITB will continue to support employers to invest in their talent pipeline helping industry grow the number of apprenticeships and graduate opportunities, developing alternative entry pathways and funding quality training to upskill and reskill the workforce.

“One such example is the pilot programme we launched earlier this month with the Global Wind Organisation and the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult. This cross-skill programme will support worker transferability between oil and gas and wind operations and maintenance.

“Oil and gas work will continue, certainly in the short and medium term and longer term too as decommissioning activity increases. We need to ensure the industry has the skilled workforce it needs to deploy to both existing oil and gas fields as well as onshore and offshore wind.

“This pilot will enable the two-way transition of qualified oil and gas technicians into offshore wind and then back again as and when maintenance activity is needed.”

Other Census findings on the oil and gas sector:

• Employers in the oil and gas sector estimate a 12% increase in workforce numbers by 2027.
• 68% of oil and gas employers are experiencing challenges hiring workers, citing resource issues, rising challenges in offering competitive salaries and a lack of training, skills and qualifications.
• Electrical, project and subsea engineers, project managers, design technicians, riggers, platers and pipefitters are among the roles most difficult to fill.

Helping predict future trends

The ECITB conducts a census every three years, with in-scope employers providing information on workforce numbers by occupation, sector and location, as well as demographics data on age, gender, ethnicity and nationality.

Employers primarily involved in engineering construction are considered ‘in-scope’ of the ECITB’s remit, with those exceeding a certain size legally required to contribute to an industrial training levy.

In summer 2024, employers were asked to fill out an online survey which included questions on expected workforce growth, business opportunities by sector and hiring challenges.

Andrew added: “As the employer-led skills body for the ECI across Great Britain, it is vital for us to understand the nuances of our industry’s different sectors to best support the skills needs of our companies both now and in the future.

“Our sectoral report provides unique insights into workforce capabilities and training needs in the oil and gas sector, which will allow for evidence-based, targeted initiatives and interventions.”

 

 

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