Energy transition report warns of offshore workforce cliff edge

Worley Robert Gordon University’s Energy Transition Institute has warned that the next five years will be decisive for the North East of Scotland’s energy economy, as a new report sets out stark choices facing the region’s offshore workforce. The ‘Delivering Positive Energy’ report argues that the period to 2030 will not only shape the future of the regional energy sector, but will also define the wider economy for a generation. It says success would allow the North East to reinvent itself as a multi-energy hub, capturing emerging renewables opportunities across the UK and North West Europe, while failure would risk a permanent loss of skills and capability built over decades of North Sea activity. The North East hosts about one in three of the UK’s 115,000 offshore oil and gas jobs and around one in four of the 154,000 offshore energy roles. Around 90% of the local offshore energy workforce remains in oil and gas, with only 10% in renewables. The total offshore energy workforce in the region has already fallen from roughly 56,000 in 2016 to about 42,200 in 2024, equivalent to around one in six of the working population. Looking ahead, the institute warns that, depending on future investment, the offshore energy workforce could shrink by a further 18,000 jobs by 2035, averaging around 1,600 roles per year. The report labels the coming five-year period as a “Goldilocks zone”, in which declining oil and gas employment must be matched by growth in renewables to avoid a lasting skills drain. It stresses that preventing offshore energy job losses should take priority over simply mitigating their consequences. Regional offshore energy salaries are typically up to twice average income levels in the North East, meaning that each lost job carries significant economic weight. The report notes that replacing the value of a single offshore role would require multiple new jobs elsewhere in the economy. Despite the risks, the institute argues that the region has strong advantages as a multi-energy hub, citing a skilled workforce, an established supply chain, relatively low commercial rents and house prices, strong transport links, and a proven energy ecosystem. “With the right policy framework, decisions and sustained investor confidence, there are viable pathways to manage a transition that sustains regional jobs and economic activity,” the report states. It calls for a coordinated approach that blends private capital to build capability and scale with targeted public investment to cut uncertainty and give investors the confidence to commit at the pace the transition demands. Bojan Lepic Bojan is an English language professor turned journalist with years of experience covering the energy industry with a focus on the oil, gas, and LNG industries as well as reporting on the rise of the energy transition. Previously, he had written for Navingo media group titles including Offshore Energy Today and LNG World News. Before joining Splash, Bojan worked as an editor for Rigzone online magazine. Read Next June 23, 2026 CIMC Raffles to build FPSO for Angola project June 23, 2026 Greek owner Ionic lines up four tanker newbuilds in Japan June 23, 2026 Metrostar books MR tanker duo in South Korea June 23, 2026 Scotland awards funds to boost offshore wind skills pipeline June 23, 2026 Oaktree files to sell $103m worth of Torm shares