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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.
Figure 1: The Age Profile of the Offshore Workforce from 2010 to 2013
1
The UK Continental Shelf Offshore Workforce Demographics Report 2014
is available to download at
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
18 23 28 33 38 43 48 53 58 63 68 73
Number of Personnel
Age
2013 Figures
2012 Figures
2011 Figures
2010 Figures
Source: Vantage POB
Source: Vantage POB
