UK underwater engineering sector to create 9000 jobs by 2022

Who doesn’t want to hear forecasts of a jobs boom? Almost 9,000 more people are expected to be recruited into the UK’s underwater engineering industry over the next three years, according to a new report.

The figures come from the latest Business Activity Review by Subsea UK, which says the industry has ‘weathered the storm’ of 2014 – 2017 oil price slump and the total value of UK subsea output has increased by £500m in 2017 to £7.8bn annually – representing more than a third of a global market. As a result, 80% of companies are expecting recruitment activity to pick up – which would see more than 54,000 people employed in this sector by 2022.

The lion’s share of positions is likely to be in north-east Scotland though the north-east of England will also see a considerable rise in recruitment.

Neil Gordon, the industry body chief Executive, commented that “the last five years have taken their toll on those subsea companies predominantly operating in oil and gas. But the findings in this business activity review reveal that the UK subsea industry has weathered the storm.” The decline has been arrested with a clear upturn in activity, largely due to an increase in output from subsea SMEs and more activity in renewables, particularly offshore wind.

“The growth projections provided by both the Tier 1 companies and SMEs reveal much greater optimism, due to both the recovery in oil and gas and the opportunities presented by the energy transition.”

The buoyant sentiment around the industry was reflected in the recent Subsea Expo, held in Aberdeen. Wood was one of the biggest companies making a showcase – Keith Anderson, its subsea and export systems manager, said: “We’re all feeling it in our businesses that things are on the up in the subsea environment but you really start to see it here just now.”

Gordon Conlon, Director of the Darlington-based subsea equipment supplier Supergrip (UK) firm told the Northern Echo that the timing was perfect for their company which had recently expanded: “While oil and gas and renewables remain the largest markets for the UK subsea industry, revenues from other sectors, such as wave and tidal, defense, subsea mining, and marine science are on the increase and interest in these, along with the emerging aquaculture sector, is growing.

“The drive towards net-zero presents exciting opportunities to develop solutions that accelerate the energy transition, particularly in carbon capture and storage.”

One of the central concerns will be around a skills shortage, but at Precise, we’ll be focused on ensuring that our freelancers are able to enhance and develop their skillsets to meet client demand. Get in touch if you want to know more.