More oil and gas workers to be supported into jobs
More oil and gas workers across Scotland will be offered tailored skills support to seize high-quality jobs in energy and other growth sectors.
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Over a thousand more oil and gas workers to get tailored support to move into new growing industries, from clean energy to advanced manufacturing
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Comes as UK and Scottish governments invest a total of £6 million to expand a successful skills programme that has already helped over 400 North Sea workers retrain
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The expanded scheme will now open to more workers across Scotland, offering the skills needed to access thousands of high-quality jobs in a range of fast-expanding sectors
Over a thousand more oil and gas workers will benefit from tailored career support to access good, well-paid jobs in clean energy and other growth sectors, as a successful skills programme is expanded across Scotland.
Backed by a total of £6 million from UK and Scottish governments, the expansion follows a successful pilot scheme in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire - which has helped over 400 North Sea workers retrain for roles in Scotland’s energy transition.
Following popular demand, the new scheme will give current and former oil and gas workers living anywhere in Scotland specialist training support, if they wish to transfer their high-value skills into fast-expanding sectors under the energy transition.
The expansion follows the government’s plans, announced last year, to continue to use the North Sea for decades to come, by managing existing oil and gas fields for their lifetime and supporting new investment in oil and gas production through Transitional Energy Certificates.
The government will not continue the same failed approach to the North Sea that it inherited, which saw the skilled workforce fall by a third over past decade, without the necessary investment in what comes next. By actively scaling up clean energy industries, the government is paving the way for over 40,000 new roles in Scotland by 2030, creating the next generation of skilled energy workers.
These jobs are already hitting the market, as latest industry figures show that more than 1,500 new jobs were supported in Scotland’s electricity networks in the last two years alone. Meanwhile, 2025 saw jobs in the UK’s wind industry reach a record high of around 55,000, according to Renewable UK.
The scheme is also being expanded to provide training support in other growing sectors, including advanced manufacturing, life sciences and defence - where the skills and expertise of oil and gas workers are in demand.
Energy Minister Michael Shanks said:
Thousands of good jobs are being created right now in renewable energy and upgrading our grid and we want to make it as easy as possible for people with skills from the oil and gas industry to take advantage of these opportunities.
This programme has already been oversubscribed so we are investing to expand it to more skilled workers as part of our commitment to deliver a fair and prosperous transition in the North Sea.
Secretary of State for Scotland Douglas Alexander said:
The expansion of the training scheme will support Scotland’s position at the heart of energy production in the UK. The scheme will support more than one thousand oil and gas workers in their transitions into new energy technologies.
After a successful first phase, I am also pleased to see opportunities in different sectors, such as defence and advance manufacturing, are being made available to oil and gas workers in Scotland to utilise their specialist skills and experience.
Scottish Government Energy Minister Stephen Gethins said:
Scotland has the geography, we have the infrastructure, and above all, we have the people to make the most of the energy transition that is upon us.
The workforce that has driven Scotland’s oil and gas industry for generations is one of the most skilled and experienced in the world and it is vital that their expertise is preserved in the North East, and beyond.
A just and managed transition means putting workers, and the communities that depend on them, at the heart of the economic benefits created by that transition. That is exactly what this fund intends to achieve by giving people the freedom to take their world-class skills into new and growing sectors, without being held back by the cost of training.
Eligible oil and gas workers in Scotland will be able to submit new applications for the scheme from today, via Skills Development Scotland’s Transition Training Fund website. Successful applicants to the scheme will receive careers advice and funding towards training courses for highly-skilled and in-demand roles such as in welding, electrical engineering, construction and more.
The expansion forms part of up to £20 million in joint UK and Scottish Government funding, committed as part of the government’s Clean Energy Jobs Plan last year, to provide North Sea oil and gas workers with bespoke careers training for thousands of new roles in clean energy.
Frank Mitchell, Chair of Skills Development Scotland, said:
The skills and expertise of Scotland’s oil and gas workforce are in demand across a number of growing sectors.
SDS advisers can help workers in the oil and gas industry to reskill and upskill for careers in growing sectors to help them build on their experience and ultimately transition into new roles.
The fund will play an important role in ensuring communities across Scotland benefit as much as possible from the continued growth of these key sectors.
Workers will soon be able to access support from a new North Sea Jobs Service, announced as part of the UK government’s North Sea Future Plan last year, that will offer end-to-end career support for oil and gas workers to take up new opportunities in growing sectors - ensuring North Sea communities remain at the heart of Britain’s energy and industrial future.
Oil and gas workers are also benefitting from the Energy Skills Passport, in collaboration with industry and Scottish Government, which helps workers to identify routes into several roles in offshore wind including construction and maintenance. This will also be expanded to include more clean energy sectors over time.
Notes to editors
Further information on who is eligible and how to apply can be found at: www.transitiontrainingfund.scot/.
The expansion of the Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund is backed by £3 million in UK government funding and £3 million from the Scottish Government.
This builds on nearly £1 million in UK government funding and an additional £450,000 from the Scottish Government for the pilot scheme, which ran between July 2025 and March 2026.
The UK and Scottish governments committed a total of up to £20 million to support North Sea oil and gas workers transition into new clean energy roles. The remaining £12 million in joint funding will be rolled out over 2027/8 to 2028/9.
The UK government’s clean energy jobs plan, published last year, confirmed that the clean power mission will create the next generation of skilled jobs, including over 40,000 new clean energy roles in Scotland by 2030.
According to latest figures from Renewable UK, there were 55,000 people employed in the UK wind industry in 2025, including 40,000 in the offshore wind industry:
In the last two years, more than 1,500 jobs have been created in electricity networks in Scotland alone.
SSEN Transmission has grown by 1,100 employees over the last two years from 1,800 employees to 2,900 employees – a growth of over 60%.
SP Energy Networks created more than 450 new network jobs in Scotland in 2025 alone.
In the last two years, SP Energy Networks has created over 425 traineeships in Scotland.