Businesses need to have the value of young people written into their DNA.
So says Anita Martin, who has just taken up her place on the board of Developing the Young Workforce North East.
And she should know, as her day job is HR manager at Well-Safe Solutions, a well decommissioning specialist in the energy sector.
The company was founded four years ago and has over 150 employees, having undergone its own voyage in terms of realising the potential of young people.
“It is imperative to get young people into the industry and enthused about opportunities,” said Anita.
“However, one person pushing this inside a company is not enough. It is the responsibility of business leaders and all employers to get young people into their businesses.”
Negative perceptions
Well-Safe Solutions was established to capitalise on the extensive need for safe and secure well abandonment and decommissioning. The oil and gas sector has suffered recently from negative perceptions of it being a “dirty” industry with a lack of job security, as the world attempts to shift away from fossil fuels.
“The reality is that there are a myriad of opportunities in the energy industry as technology surges forward and we continue to innovate,” said Anita.
“There is a shortage of skills in the marketplace and we need to bring in young people so they can enjoy a long and successful career.
“Our drive to recruit young people is driven by our diversity and inclusion agenda but it is also a real business need.
“As we started the business, we brought on the experience but in order to sustain that growth, we need to bring young people into the industry.”
“As a fairly young company founded only four years ago, the first aim was to recruit the experience needed to run a complex business. However the realisation dawned that fewer than one percent of the total workforce was under 25 years old." - Anita Martin, Well-Safe Solutions
Energy transition
A recent survey conducted for Developing the Young Workforce found that over 70% of young people in the region were “not really” or “not at all” interested in a career in the oil & gas sector.
With the significant energy transition activity underway across the region, the north-east of Scotland aspires to be a globally-recognised integrated energy cluster.
At the moment, it can draw on a world-class set of oil and gas sector and supply chain skills. However to continue to flourish, it needs a workforce fit for the future to develop and accelerate these low carbon projects and activity.
“As a fairly young company founded only four years ago, the first aim was to recruit the experience needed to run a complex business.
“However the realisation dawned that fewer than one percent of the total workforce was under 25 years old.
“From that, it became a key target laid down in March this year to grow youth employability.”
Apprenticeships
Well-Safe Solutions now has six young people under 25 working for them and that figure will continue to grow in the next few months.
As well as two graduate apprentices in finance and engineering, they have recruited a modern apprentice as well as putting in place an initiative that recruits and trains young people with no offshore experience.
“Our greenhand scheme operated in conjunction with our recruitment partners Atlas Professionals, aims to address this issue of attracting young people into the industry,” said Anita.
