Oil and Gas Community

Hi
I work as a safety advisor for london underground, and have four years safety experience on rail and construction projects.I want a career in the oil and gas industry and have been searching various websites for possible jobs however I keep hitting brickwalls whenever I apply for positions. I hold distinctions for nebosh general, nebosh construction and nebosh fire risk and management and have started studying for the nebosh diploma, it seems that every safety job I have applied for requires a technical degree, is this a blanket qualification needed for most HSE based jobs? I am 24 so could it be my age that plays against me? I would appreciate if anyone can point me in the right direction.

thanks

Hi Charlie

There is def hope for you. I am 26 and have worked in HSE for 6 years. I got into the oil industry with just my NEBOSH and have never looked back. I certainly don’t hold a technical degree.

There are some courses you can do that will increase your chances of getting offshore. You of course need to have the Survival and Medical along with the new MIST training. But there are some others that may increase your chances as well. Safety guys offshore often double up as Fire Team Leaders, Helideck Crew or Radio Operators. Depending on the type of installation and location of course. Any of these certs will help. You could also look at doing an Radiation Protection course.

RPS covers things like LSA and NORM which are encountered offshore when entering vessels or breaking into pipelines etc. Often these activities are during shutdowns where they require additional safety cover. It may be your best route to getting some experience as they often struggle when looking for people for 1 or 2 trips only.

If you are looking for more advice try www.hsepeople.com which is a well established networking site much the same as this but for people in Health and Safety.

Hope this helps.

Kevin

I came back into the offshore sector in the late 90s, at the age of 42. I had also been doing a lot of London Underground and other tunnelling work prior to that ( which was how I completely missed the 85-92 oil price crash ). I had also done two or three years of onshore pipeline experience in the early 90s, which did no harm.

However I did have some previous offshore experience; 15 years before in a different role, but as has been remarked elsewhere, to a fair extent it is the fact of having done it at all which counts.

I would also comment that it took me several years to reach the position of offshore work being my principal income, in fact I am not really in that position now. I have had periods in which it has been my main income, particularly the boom years like 1997-8 and 2005-2008, but I have had at least as many years when I have mainly done other things because I couldn't strike a worthwhile balance between availability, total income and other options.

so, good luck, but it is a very difficult industry to break into and most do not succeed. Ultimately it has been worthwhile to me, as one element in a career which essentially consists of performing similar roles in different sectors.

plus, I've enjoyed it immensely and wouldn't have missed it for the world.

It helps alot kevin, thank you. I have been looking at survival courses and am I right in thinking that the euro with give me most reach in terms of finding work?
Do you know where I can find more information out about RPS, when you say they struggle to look for people for 1-2 trips do you mean its very short term work?
Am I maybe reaching out of my depth applying for positions in the middle east, asia and the eastern bloc, these are the waters I would most like to work in, should I look closer to home such as aberdeen, but is the pay and workload (experience I can gain) less in uk waters?

Thanks for the input offshore dimension, I am understanding how it is difficult to break into the industry but I think the underground was a tricky nut to crack as it seemed to be one big click so I think perseverance is the keyword and if I keep at it something should give. I'm hoping that my qualifications and age to some extent give me an edge as i'm fairly young, willing to learn and a grafter above all.

Hi Charlie

The problem just now is this. Last year an estimated 15% of the Oil and Gas workforce were paid off. Another huge percentage got their salary and day rates cut. You have a situation where the experienced people out of work are looking and the ones who got a pay cut are also looking to move as they are not best pleased.

Throw in the recession, cancelled projects and the low cost of oil (although its better recently) It just isn’t a great situation. Now there is a surplus of experienced people in the market and as a new start it is probably the worst time to be trying to get a foot in the door.

However its not all doom and gloom. There are a lot of emerging markets and it is going to pick up this year for sure. Libya, Saudi, Brazil, Antarctica, Iraq have all thrown the gates open to foreign oil companies and there is some mega projects kicking off. All the cancelled work from last year will need to go ahead. Decommissioning is another area that will be creating jobs this year also.

We also now have a situation where the renewables sector is growing and they are poaching oil and gas workers. All of these along with a high oil price will increase demand for sure. I would say with less experience and your age you are more likely to get a job abroad than you are in the UK. I got into HSE when I was 20 and was offshore at 21 but then I was in the right place at the right time. Luck def is a factor and perseverance will pay off. ill keep my ear to the ground for you.

Im in a similar position to Charlie and its very frustrating.

I have worked in the oil/gas/petrochemical/power industry mainly onshore but last year I did my offshore tickets and started to work off Aberdeen. I studied part time to complete the NEBOSH certificate back in 2004 and again studied part time to complete the NEBOSH Diploma Part 1. I have sent cv after cv and still fail to get any interest.

I just dont know where to turn!

Im in the same boat.
Iv been an offshore storeman on FPSO for a few years, iv don roughneck/roustabout work for years,but since Aug i cant get a smell at any work.
Iv banged in over 800 CVs to no avail, i think iv only had two interested parties in all that time and they have no work till Aug.
Iv even tried for onshore work and there is nothing there either.

I am only 42 and am already sterting to think, will i ever work again.
So when you say you dont know where to turn i understand excactly where you are coming from.

On the scrap heap at 42...

Getting into the H & S sector is what I'm really hoping for but at the moment I will take on any work. I really thought the NEBOSH courses would be a stepping stone into the sector but I just keep on running into brick walls.

I'm 32 and believe even an apprentice type role in H & S would be a fantastic step for me.

in same boat as you i did an engineering appreniceship and got an HNC/ NVQ level 4 in engineering and for the last 10 years worked as an arc/thermit welder welding inspector and cast crossing inspector on the London underground before been made redundant in Nov 2010.
I since did a NEBOSH general certificate to back up my safety knowledge and to try and get in to H&S
At the age of 37 am trying to get in to oil and gas but keep hitting brick walls
Am willing to take any job just to get that first step taken
Any help would be most welcome

cheers
Tony
tonycrosso@tiscali.co.uk

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