A career as an upstream oil and gas technician is like no other. Mentally and often physically demanding, it offers serious responsibility combined with the exhilaration of working offshore.
The financial rewards are considerable - and on-shore leave is generous. For the right kind of person it's a "work hard, play hard" life that can't be equalled. Should you wish to travel, you can work almost anywhere in the world. Wherever you go, you'll be part of a close-knit team of people you respect and rely on. Working in the engineering industry, you'll learn to keep your cool and to recognise what real problems are. It's not a soft option and it's not nine to five. But then again, it's the kind of job where you get out as much as you put in.
Oil and gas operations at the heart of the world economy.
The industry helps to make the world go around. It creates and maintains vital installations, from power plants to factories, helping to underpin the international economy and all our lives. The industry helps provide the safest, most reliable and most efficient industrial plants, enabling emerging economies to get off the ground. It's not just an interesting industry. It's essential.
How does oil and gas fit into the picture?
Making sure there is a reliable supply of oil and gas is one of the roles of the engineering industry. These resources provide the energy and essential chemicals that power our transport system, our homes and our industry, earning valuable tax and export revenues to support the British economy. The upstream oil and gas industry includes a wide range of elements, from offshore installations, through to oil refineries and chemical and process plants on the mainland. The UK is self-sufficient in oil and exports crude oil to the value of £5 billion per year. The industry provides 75% of the UK's primary energy. Oil and gas is vital to the environment, water, food, power generation, and the pharmaceutical and chemical sectors. In total, this industry provides employment for around 380,000 people. Many livelihoods are dependant on the efforts of trained and skilled technicians.
