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Championing the Region’s Subsea Industries: Bdaily speaks to Andrew Hodgson

In his role of chairman of Subsea North East, it’s Andrew Hodgson’s job to encourage people to come and work in the region’s oil and gas industry. However, as fewer and fewer people choose to study science and engineering, this is becoming an increasingly difficult task.

“There are lots of exciting opportunities in the oil and gas industry,” he says. “While working in the North Sea might not be the most obvious place for many to look for jobs, the industry offers the chance to work with the latest technologies as well as the opportunity to travel.”

Andrew joined Subsea North East three years ago, and since then has championed the subsea sector in the region.

“Subsea North East gives a voice to issues affecting the industry,” Andrew explains.

“We do lots of promotional activities including conferences and talks in school to help the industry drive the regions economy.”

Indeed, I myself never quite realised the impact of the industry on the region. 10,000 people are employed in subsea businesses in the North East, and bring in revenue of £10 billion annually. However, Andrew is still pushing for better; “We are expecting around a 30 percent increase in turnover in the next two years.”

One of the major problems Subsea North East is working to combat is the skills deficit in this area. “The sector is constrained by the decreasing numbers of people completing engineering degrees, and on top if this it’s also difficult to get people to come to the region.

“We need to continue to focus on our skills base in schools. Between the ages of 14 and 18, we can really get people interested in science and engineering, and we now hope that by educating people on careers in this industry we can get more people to enter into it.”

Subsea North East is now working in partnership with Newcastle University and has already had good uptake on its Subsea Engineering Programme.

The North East is well placed to support the flourishing renewable energy sector, but Andrew seems somewhat wary of the change: “The government is focussed on renewable energy, but there are dangers attached to switching too quickly. Oil and gas are cheap energy sources, and producers are working hard to make them cleaner.

“While the change towards greener energy sources is positive, we must also be careful not to lose the oil and gas industries we have in this country. While wind is free, the set up costs for this type of energy are massive, so we must exercise caution in this difficult economic climate.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .