GRANGEMOUTH oil refinery workers have been offered a “lifeline” by a Scottish energy giant, to help them secure new jobs “as quickly as possible”.
Scottish Power is looking to recruit 1000 people next year and has urged under-threat staff at Petroineos's (Ineos) oil refinery and the construction giant ISG to get in touch to secure a new role.
The energy firm said there’s a “clear skills crossover” and that it can help find new careers in its electricity networks for those who face redundancy.
In September, ScottishPower announced it was doubling its UK investment to £24 billion, with £11bn to be spent in Scotland, as it plans to build new power lines in a bid to keep up with increasing demand.
Last week, Scottish Power confirmed £5.4bn worth of supply chain contracts with UK and Irish businesses and said it also needed to recruit more people to ensure the projects are built.
Sarah McNulty, a people and organisation director, said Scottish Power is “more than happy” to help those looking to move on from the oil and gas industry.
She said: “The massive investment in electricity networks is not just good for modernising critical Scottish infrastructure but for jobs too.
“This is one of our largest ever recruitment programmes and one of the largest in Scotland. Workers at both Ineos and ISG will have the sought after skills we are looking for and we have the jobs to match.
“We’re also more than happy to look at how we help people make the move into power networks from oil and gas if they’re looking for a career switch so anyone interested should get in touch.”
Ineos confirmed in September that 400 of the workers at the Grangemouth site would lose their jobs as it will close Scotland’s last oil refinery by the second quarter of next year as it said the demand for fossil fuels is in decline.
The Grangemouth owners said the site will become an import-only terminal, with the number of staff expected to fall from 475 at present to 75 over the next two years.
The construction giant ISG also announced in September that it was going into administration as 2200 workers across the UK were made redundant with immediate effect.
Owned by the US firm Cathexis, ISG is the sixth largest construction firm in the UK by turnover, according to the Construction Index, with revenues of around £2.2bn and holds more than £1bn worth of government contracts.
McNulty added Scottish Power recognise it’s a concerning time for people whose livelihoods and want to help workers get into new roles as quickly as possible.
“These are skilled, secure and well-paid roles that will offer a long-term career helping build, operate and maintain the electricity network across central southern Scotland and we also have roles across our renewables business too,” she said.
“We recognise it’s a concerning time for people whose livelihoods are affected and that’s why we’ve reached out to the HR teams at both companies to flag our opportunities and help get them into new roles as quickly as possible.”
For more information on current and upcoming roles visit you can visist Scottish Powers site here.
