[col2611]

Hi.

Anyone on here work offshore in Oil & Gas?

I'm looking for a way to get into it. I know it's not great Right now, my current job (gas engineer for British Gas) has me working away in Aberdeen at the moment, so I've been chatting to a few people up here.

I've been advised to pop into one of the recruitment places up here and have a chat with someone. Which I will get round to doing at some point.

I was just wondering if anyone here had any advice about how to get into it? Anyone that's come from a trade like myself?

I've been told that coming from a trade will help when trying to get work, but I just don't know where to start?

Any help/advice would be great

Thanks

[Kerr]

It's really not the right time at the moment. People are getting paid off left, right and centre at the moment.

There's a lot of experienced guys looking for work.

Your trade will help you, but lots of guys have qualifications and the required certificates to work offshore.

It'll be a tough sector to get into at this time. It will pick up in the future though.

[lifeofjono]

My mum owns a small hotel in Montrose and the decline in the oil industry even has a knock on effect on them for them too as their bread and butter comes from the engineers needing a place to stay while they are in Aberdeen and oil workers spending money in the pub on the ground floor. Even they've noticed a decline in trade due to workers being laid off. Hard times all round it seems.

[AlwynMike]

If you can get in now, then good luck!
As above, there are good, experienced guys being laid off (at no notice), so it is a really tough place to get a job at the moment. Oil companies are changing shift rota's from 2 on 3 off to 3 on 3 off, so there is a surplus of men.
I recently got a promotion, and there were over 450 applicants for my job!
Your experience will help a little, but not much.
Your location (i.e. not in Aberdeen) will count against you as the Contract companies will want someone who can be at the heliport that day.
Apply for EVERYTHING - every menial, dirty, low paid job - it's easier to get a job you want if management see how well you work.
Companies probably won't look at you until you've done the Survival and MIST training (i.e. you pay for it rather than them).

Not good reading for you I'm afraid, but that's the oil sector at the moment. It will pick up. When? Who knows?

Mike

[col2611]

Thanks for the info guys. Still working away. Spent more time in Aberdeen than at home since July. Still asking around with customers. Hopefully it will pick up soon.

[gangzoom]

I have no idea about off shore work, but given the current global drive to phase out fossil fuel usage I wouldn't be susprised if oil prices keep on falling. The Saudi's have already said in the past at some point oil will be so cheap no one would want to extract it due to a lack of demand.

For the first time in Paris this week China and the US together seem to be willing to commit to CO2 reduction, probably because Chinese cities are literally choking to death via air pollution.

Scotland has some of the best renewable energy resources in Europe, and they are well on the way of becoming leaders in renewable energy generation compared to the UK. But some one has to maintain wind farms / tidal generators. The next few decades of growth will be in renewable energy generation, so might be worth looking ahead at that industry?

http://www.theguardian.com/environme...p-power-source

Sadly though England is probably behind most other countries. Whilst the England has committed to more nuclear power stations Germany wants to shut every single one down...and replace them with renewable sources. Given Germany can already generate nearly 80% of peak demand via renewables, England's energy policy is looking very very outdated and irrelevant .

http://ecowatch.com/2015/07/30/germa...energy-record/

[MrPogle]

Hardly 80% of peak. The article says 78% of the "days demand" which I would suggest will be an awful lot less than the peak. Also it took freak weather patterns to do it, so to suggest that Germany can generate 80% of its peak energy is misleading.

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by MrPogle

Hardly 80% of peak. The article says 78% of the "days demand" which I would suggest will be an awful lot less than the peak. Also it took freak weather patterns to do it, so to suggest that Germany can generate 80% of its peak energy is misleading.

But still generating 25% of demand overall, and a firm commitment from German to phase out nuclear power.

The UK has much more wind generating potential that Germany (as Scotland is showing), yet the current English government has a much future insight/planing as the managers at Rover did.

http://energytransition.de/2015/08/g...ally-sensible/

[AWSAWS]

I just spent 2 weeks fishing in Florida and one guy there works 6 mths of the year somewhere like DC and then spends the following 6mths, mainly over winter in Florida. I'd be interested in something similar. Sorry to hear that the industry is suffering.