Latest news: Energy jobs for Scotland

Aberdeen needs to attract 120,000 recruits to fulfil its global energy potential, says accountantcy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). 06/09/2012

 According to a new report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers , Aberdeen must hire the equivalent of the entire city’s current workforce by 2022, as half the industry’s workers are now over 45.

The report has also called for an Aberdeen Energy Academy to be established within two or three years.

This could be welcome news for graduates considering jobs in this sector.

‘Since we first outlined our vision of an Energy Academy ten months ago, an initial feasibility study has taken place with the concept gaining broad support from industry, academics and the public sector,’ said Mark Higginson, senior partner at PwC in Aberdeen.

The report, Northern Lights: One Year On suggests that a new generation willing to pursue a career in the oil and gas industry is vital in the city realising its capacity.

‘The supply of appropriately skilled labour continues to be the greatest threat to Aberdeen's ability to become a global energy centre of excellence,’ added Higginson.

The energy minister, Fergus Ewing said that the government was ‘working closely with the industry through the Oil and Gas Strategy and the Energy Skills Action Group to address the skills demand that exists’.

‘Last month we launched a £2million Energy Skills Challenge Fund, delivered through Skills Development Scotland , to create extra flexible training places for the energy sector,’ said Ewing.