Rumour has it that employers from the oil and gas sector are so hard up for permanent employees that they’re raiding the ranks of the nation’s contractors.
Actually it’s not much of a rumour as it is a cold hard fact, if the latest research findings from the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce can be believed. The organisation’s latest iteration of their Oil and Gas Survey has discovered that all too many firms in the energy sector have been playing hardball when it comes to keeping their freelance workers or umbrella company contractors, as these companies have been working overtime to convert as many interim workers to permanent employees as possible – especially in instances when the contractor has much-needed skills that the firm’s permanent workforce lacks!
There isn’t one operator that does business in the offshore oil fields of the North Sea that hasn’t increased its number of workers over the past 12 months, according to the report. In fact, more than two out of every three have grown their permanent workforce, while the research study also discovered that 40 per cent have also increased their use of contractors and freelance workers as well; on top of that, more than three out of every four operators said that the hours their workers put in last year was much higher than they had originally estimated.
Still, even in the face of this growth there’s still massive staff shortages amongst at least 40 per cent of the North Sea oil and gas operators, and the competition for a highly limited number of interim workers has been reported as cutthroat. The industry is going to need some 10,000 additional workers over the next five years in order to keep up with demand, research says, but there’s simply not enough staff to go around in order to accomplish these goals – and oil and gas companies are in a mad scramble to scoop up as many workers on a permanent basis that they possibly can!
This is of course fantastic news for anyone who entered into the freelancing sector because of the loss of a permanent position and is looking to re-enter the relative stability of traditional employment; these oil and gas firms are simply waiting with bated breath to welcome you back into the fold. However, for anyone who enjoys the flexibility of the contractor lifestyle, these constant attempts to coax or coerce them into a permanent position could lead to someone simply looking for greener pastures, despite how lucrative a given contract may be.
