AGCC Survey Shows Nearly All O&G Contractors Plan to Recruit Next Year

Robert Collier, chief executive at the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: “The survey is now in its 19th edition and remains a critical independent benchmark for the oil and gas sector. We’d like to thank those who continue to support this important work as the study relies on businesses providing their views on sector performance and the issues they face."

“Of course the good news is that the sector and the North-east continue to see record levels of activity. This time, 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 and continue to deliver for the North-east, Scottish and UK economies.”

North-east Scotland is home to a large part of the UK oil and gas industries and is pivotal to the Scottish and UK economy. The region generates the second highest economic output per head in the UK (behind inner London) and has shown growth more than double the Scottish average since 2009. Capital investment in the sector in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) is predicted to total $21.98 billion (GBP13.5 billion) in 2013.

Further Key Findings from the Report Include:

Employment Challenges

Operators continue to face particular difficulties in recruiting managerial or professional employees, and those in technical and skilled trades.

Half of all respondents reported losing core staff in 2013, and half of all respondents (50 percent) claimed that losing employees to companies in other oil regions around the globe was a contributory factor to staff loss. This has led to an increasing focus on attracting talent from outside the sector. The percentage of contractors sourcing staff from non oil and gas firms increased from 18 percent last year to 31 percent, with the armed forces being a particularly common source of new employees.