Labour has pledged to work with the SNP government to deliver the long-awaited ‘skills passport’ for oil and gas workers as part of a bid to help protect North Sea jobs.
Shadow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray will speak with businesses in Aberdeen on Wednesday about the plan to help transition offshore workers into renewables.
But the senior Labour MP’s visit comes as the party faces growing pressure over its plans to increase and extend the windfall tax on oil and gas profits.
Analysts have delivered stark warnings that Labour’s proposed North Sea tax increases could destroy up to 100,000 jobs.
Mr Murray said the party want to deliver a skills passport that allows offshore workers to “move flexibly back and forth” between both industries, if elected on July 4.
Plans for a skill passport, which already has the backing of both the UK and Scottish governments, have been in the pipeline for years but have been hit by delays.
SNP candidate for Aberdeen South Stephen Flynn said: “In news that will shock thousands, the Labour Party pay so little attention to the north-east that they don’t even seem to know that the Scottish Government is already funding the development of a skills passport.
“Given that, what the Labour Party should be announcing today is a withdrawal of their destructive energy plans that would see up to 100,000 job cuts – the SNP will continue to oppose those plans and put Scotland’s interest first.”
What is a skills passport?
Last month, bodies from the oil, gas and offshore wind industry reached an agreement to trial a scheme that will allow cross-sector recognition of industry training and expertise.
This would give offshore workers the ability to move smoothly around all parts of the energy mix, from jobs in the oil and gas sector to specialist roles in wind and other areas of the energy transition.
Delivery on the commitment to a skills passport was set out in both the £16 billion North Sea Transition Deal and Offshore Wind Sector Deal struck between industry and the UK Government in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
The project has been supported by the Scottish Government since 2022, when it awarded energy skills body OPITO £5 million from the Just Transition Fund.
‘We need to cut that red tape’
Mr Murray said it “should be easier” to switch between oil and gas and renewables.
He said: “The present situation, where training in one industry isn’t recognised in the other, cuts off opportunities for oil and gas workers. The fact some workers are paying out of their own pockets is scandalous.
“We need to cut that red tape and deliver a skills passport that allows offshore workers to move flexibly back and forth between both industries in the years and decades to come and which harnesses the potential of our world class workforce to make Scotland a world leader in clean energy.”
However, Andrew Bowie, Scottish Conservative candidate for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, claimed the best way for Scotland to safely transition 100,000 oil and gas jobs into renewables is by “showing Labour the door”.
He said: “Keir Starmer doesn’t understand what’s already happening in the energy industry, or the economic carnage his plans will create in the north-east.”
Mr Bowie continued: “Skills passports are one part of the solution, and that’s why the cross-industry group OPITO is already engaging on a UK-wide basis, to look at how technical and safety standards can align.
“It’s already happening in Aberdeen and I don’t think Labour has any acumen to add to what experts are already doing.”
Katy Heidenreich, people & supply chain director at leading trade body Offshore Energies UK, said they welcome Labour’s support for the scheme and would be pleased to update Labour on the work done so far.
She added: “The UK’s energy future hinges upon the expertise of our exceptional offshore workforce. The creation of the skills passport will help take full advantage of worker experience and capabilities while ensuring the preservation of jobs and communities nationwide.”
Conversation