OGUK Conducts Big Workforce Listening Exercise

Industry body Oil & Gas UK (OGUK) has announced that it is conducting one of the industry’s biggest ever listening exercises as part of efforts to deliver a fair energy transition and achieve the UK government’s net zero targets.

The organization said it will launch a comprehensive program of initiatives to hear directly from the tens of thousands of people employed by the changing industry across the UK. The initiatives are said to include a survey of HR managers across the sector’s companies, focus groups of employees in a multitude of roles, digital roadshows explaining and updating employees on the North Sea Transition Deal, as well as direct communications to people across the sector. Findings from the engagement exercise will inform key asks in the North Sea Transition Deal and will be set out in OGUK’s Workforce Report in the autumn of this year, OGUK highlighted.

The organization noted that the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the recent downturn reinforced the need to continue to listen to issues and opportunities facing people as the sector urgently works to deliver a lower carbon future. In 2019, the organization led over 5,000 conversations with people working for operator and supply chain companies in an initiative that led to the delivery of the sector’s plan for the future - Roadmap 2035.

“The oil and gas sector’s expertise will be crucial to the UK’s energy security and economy for many decades to come,” Katy Heidenreich, OGUK’s supply chain and operations director, said in an organization statement.

“Firstly, for the continuing oil and gas that we know is essential to keep the country running. Secondly, to roll out the cleaner energy technologies needed for the UK to hit the net zero carbon emissions by 2050,” the OGUK representative added.

“The industry’s skilled workforce are key to us achieving all of this. That’s why we’re announcing this major workforce listening and engaging exercise. We’ll be having a two-way dialogue with employees at every level across the sector. This will make sure that the transition is shaped directly by the people and communities who will be most affected by it,” Heidenreich went on to say.

“This will also help us continually refine the plans to develop the diverse energy mix we know the UK is going to need up to 2050 and beyond,” Heidenreich continued.

According to OGUK’s latest Workforce Insight Report, the total number of offshore workers in the industry stood at 49,628 in 2019, including 22,922 core workers. Those who spend more than 100 nights offshore in a year are defined as core workers.

OGUK is the leading representative body for the UK offshore oil and gas industry, according to its website. The not-for-profit organization was established back in 2007.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com