Health & Safety Report 2014

2. Health: Significant Issues and Activities While the UK offshore oil and gas industry has traditionally been good at examining its safety record and the underlying causes of incidents, health and safety reports have less frequently examined health issues in the same way. This report has not previously included health content and we are grateful to our medical advisor, Dr Graham Furnace, for this contribution which provides a good foundation for future reports. 2.1 An Ageing Workforce? The Oil & Gas UK Offshore Workforce Demographics Report 2014 1 reveals that the average age of the UK offshore workforce has remained fairly constant since 2006 in the range of 40 to 41 years. This is to be expected for aworkforce predominantly aged between 20 and 65. The average age of the offshore worker in 2013 was 40.8 years. Moreover, the report shows that while the number of older workers has remained relatively constant, the number of younger workers has increased, thereby dispelling the myth of an ageing workforce. The below graph shows that a significant proportion of the workforce is under the age of 35 and that this is where the most growth occurs.

1

2

3

4

5

Figure 1: The Age Profile of the Offshore Workforce from 2010 to 2013

6

2,500

2013 Figures 2012 Figures 2011 Figures 2010 Figures

2,000

7

1,500

8

1,000

Number of Personnel

9

500

10

0

18 23 28 33 38 43 48 53 58 63 68 73

Age

Source: Vantage POB Source: Vantage POB

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12

1 The UK Continental Shelf Offshore Workforce Demographics Report 2014 is available to download at www.oilandgasuk.co.uk/knowledgecentre/Offshore_workforce_demographics.cfm

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