WHAT ON EARTH SUMMER 2021
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Oil workers blocked from transition by training chaos By Ryan Morrison, Just Transition Campaigner As climate change impacts intensify across the globe, there is an increasing focus on the urgent need to bring the extraction of oil and gas to an end. In Scotland, an estimated 20,000 people work directly in the extraction of fossil fuels offshore and many communities around the North East of Scotland rely on the industry today.
Photo: istockphoto.com
A just transition is vital, winding down the extraction of fossil fuels while ensuring the people who work in the industry and surrounding communities who depend upon it, are not left behind.
Scotland is uniquely placed for this transition, with vast untapped potential for renewable energy and a workforce with the skills and experience to unleash it. Yet our Offshore report published last year found that these workers were struggling to move out of the industry despite a huge appetite to make the shift into renewable energy. Of nearly 1,400 workers surveyed, 81% were open to moving out of oil and gas. However, through the survey and in several follow up conversations, workers told us that they face a convoluted and expensive training regime before they could even be considered for a job in other areas of the energy sector.
