Skills should be top of agenda post election, OPITO chief

The UK can position itself as a global leader in energy safety and competence with a renewed focus on skills and training, according to industry body OPITO.

Ahead of the upcoming UK general election on 4 July, OPITO has launched its first ever ‘skills manifesto‘, outlining six key policy areas for the next government.

The manifesto urges all parties to “champion the critical role of the energy workforce” in achieving the UK’s net zero ambitions.

The document calls for a National Skills Strategy alongside a focus on addressing skills shortages, social mobility, greater support for apprenticeships and stability in energy policy.

OPITO also emphasised the need for “action over words” in supporting the aims of the North Sea Transition Deal, including plans for an offshore skills passport.

‘Root and branch’ skills evaluation

Speaking to Energy Voice, OPITO chief executive Stephen Marcos Jones said he wants to see the next government undertake a “root and branch” evaluation of the skills sector in support of the energy transition.

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Since taking on the top job at OPITO in February, Mr Jones said creating a “seamless” way for the North Sea energy workforce to move between sectors is a priority.

“Creating that movement of people is key to me, preserving jobs as a result of that and ensuring that we maintain the safety standards that we continue to uphold as the set parameters of the sector continue to change,” he said.

Mr Jones said part of the “beauty” of energy skills transferability is incorporating the safety culture developed over decades of experience in North Sea oil and gas.

“The oil and gas sector, quite rightly so, is extremely focused on keeping every individual in its workforce safe at work, and I think we’ve learned a lot over the decades of delivering this industry here in the UK,” he said.

“Taking that culture of safety and expanding it can only be a good thing, because that is at the heart of everything that we do and that’s got to be at the heart of any expansion efforts that we make.

“I certainly see a benefit from this ability to share good practice and learn from others as the energy sector continues to evolve and change.”

Offshore skills passport

A key part of enabling that transfer of skills in the energy sector is the offshore skills passport, which Mr Jones said is moving closer to completion after months of delay.

He said while creating the passport had been “quite a challenge”, it had fostered greater collaboration between the oil and gas and renewable energy sectors.

“If we think about the skills passport concept, it’s almost for the first time that the sector is producing a product ahead of its time,” he said.

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“Whilst the demand is starting and steadily increasing for that kind of fluid workforce across the energy sector, the jobs are still in preparation.”

Mr Jones said finding alignment among the different areas of the energy sector has been the “main challenge”, but he hopes to see the passport finalised by the end of 2024.

“I’m cautiously optimistic and quite positive that we have a product now that’s going to be useful and can be built on in phases as the demand for the product increases,” he said.

Policy stability

Mr Jones said he believes the skills passport will be “right at the top of the agenda” for whichever party takes office following the election.

He also wants to see stability and clarity from the next government on energy policy.

“For the energy sector to flourish, we’ve got to get clear on the policies,” he said.

“We can’t keep changing the goalposts, we need to make sure that the UK is an attractive place for these global companies to invest.”

Mr Jones said he wants to see the election “rhetoric” become policies that are “deployable, deliverable and budgeted for”.

“Often a lot of the ambition doesn’t match the potential of the delivery pathway that’s then offered later on,” he said.

Greater collaboration between Westminster and devolved governments will help deliver certainty, he said, with OPITO wanting to see a “systems-based approach” to skills development across the energy sector.

“I’d like to see the government not shying away from promoting the energy sector as a career destination, and that includes all parts of the energy sector,” he said.

“We want to be able to demonstrate to the current workforce and the future workforce that the diversity in this sector is such that… there is a lifelong career, a very exciting and diverse career to have in the energy sector.”