Oil and Gas workers: The Renewables industry needs you!

With the speed of the energy transition increasing rapidly, thousands of people who have been working in the Oil and Gas industry could be forgiven for wondering what's next for them.
 
What was once an industry offering an interesting, varied and lucrative career for life, is no longer quite so secure. A combination of environmental, financial, social and political pressures have seen even the biggest fossil fuel companies publish their "Net Zero" plans in an attempt to keep up with the change happening around the world.
 
So, what should all those highly skilled people do next? Could a career change to a new industry be the answer?

Hundreds of billions of dollars are being invested into new technologies for generating and transporting electricity, creating sustainable fuel sources, energy storage systems and more. Several reports show that upwards of $2.5 trillion was spent between 2010 and 2019, and this figure is likely to be beaten in the coming decade.
 
All this money being spent means jobs being created.

These vast, complex problems need highly skilled specialists to solve them.
 
It almost doesn't matter which one you choose, there are key skills which all renewable energy projects can use;
 

• Engineering & Design
  Project Management
  Operations & Maintenance
  Electrical, Controls Systems and Instrumentation
  Health & Safety and Regulatory compliance
  Quality Control and Inspection
   

The industry is growing and evolving, making it very attractive for those needing to make a change.
 
Scottish Oil workers considering retraining
 
Areas such as carbon capture, utility-scale battery systems, underground energy storage, offshore wind and hydrogen all have needs which can be met by the oil workforce.

As the potential fuel of the future, there is a massive amount of interest worldwide, with projects already being announced and ambitious schemes proposed.
 
The recent European Hydrogen Week saw hundreds of industry stakeholders gather virtually to discuss their plans and what they feel is needed to realise the potential of the most common element in the universe.
 
In simple terms, investment. Lots of it. 
 
€430 billion was a figure mentioned regularly, and it would lead to the creation of tens of thousands of jobs across the continent:
 
‘’Almost every process in the hydrogen production facility is a process which has been utilized extensively in the Oil and Gas industry whether that be water treatment, gas dehydration and compression, oxygen treatment and liquefaction, piping design… etc. the only new aspect for an engineer with a background in oil and gas is the electrolysis process. ‘’ Quote - Mary Snowdon, IO Consulting