If there’s ever been proof positive that freelancers and umbrella company contractors can make lemonade out of lemons, it’s become glaringly obvious today.
Don’t believe contract workers are an unstoppable force? It’s true – not even bad economic news can slow down the inexorable and irresistible might of these self-employed behemoths. Think about it this way: when has news of an entire 80 oil fields in the North Sea being decommissioned ever been met with joy from anyone?
It’s true though – I’m not trying to take the piss out of you. Oil giant Shell recently announced that 80 of its North Sea oil fields have more or less dried up, and that means the 40 or so drilling platforms spread across these fields need to be decommissioned. Most people would interpret this as some rather bleak news – I mean for what it’s worth that means that North Sea oil production is going to take a rather sizable dip – but freelancers and contractors are positively rubbing their hands together in glee, knowing full well that these oil rigs aren’t going to dismantle themselves.
That’s right: there’s some 35 billion pounds that Shell is willing to spend from now until 2040 to get rid of these rusting hulks of metal. It’s going to create shedloads of jobs, and most of them are going to be taken up by the nation’s stalwart freelance personnel. In other words, so what if the North Sea is drying up? There’ll be money flowing into the pockets of enterprising Brits for at least the next 25 years. To hell with the oil and gas industry; let’s take all that cash and fit our homes with solar panels, eh?
I’m being a bit facetious of course; the idea that the North Sea oil fields aren’t producing enough for Shell to justify the continued operation of 40 rigs is pretty serious in the bad news department, especially with the spectre of peak oil looming over everything. However, this could be just the thing to spur development into alternative energy sources. The added bonus of contractors and freelancers getting steady work for decades is just icing on the cake if you ask me.
