Unemployed Oil Workers Making Transition to New Jobs
More than 170 unemployed oil workers are making the transition to new jobs with help from a £12m Scottish Government fund.
Oil and Gas UK believes 120,000 people will have been made redundant as a result of the downturn by the end of the year.
In response to the crisis, Nicola Sturgeon announced the Transition Training Fund, aimed at supporting redundant oil workers while they retrain.
Around 1300 people have registered an interest in the scheme since it launched in February and 173 are now learning new skills.
The Scottish Government has allocated more than £920,000 of the total £12m to deliver training. It claims the money will provide new job opportunities for 340 people.
Industry leaders will meet in Aberdeen on Thursday to discuss how to protect the north east’s increasingly fragile economy.
Council leader Jenny Laing will chair a private two-hour meeting with representatives from the oil industry.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman added: “Through the Transition Training Fund £12m is available over a three-year period to help oil and gas workers made redundant, or at risk of redundancy, to retain and transition into other employment in oil and gas or other energy and manufacturing sectors.”
