Category Archives: Uncategorized

Green energy boom could create engineering jobs

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Construction work on renewable energy projects will continue apace over the next 20 years, a new report has predicted, which could bolster global civil engineering recruitment.


Analysis company Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) has forecast that the annual value of renewable energy capacity installed worldwide will rise in real terms from $195 billion in 2010 to $395 billion in 2020 and then $460 billion in 2030.
It also stated that China would be spending just under $50 billion a year on green energy projects by 2014, while developing economies such as India, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America would see growth rates of between 10% and 18% between 2010 and 2020.
BNEF director of commodity market research Guy Turner remarked: “These results indicate that last year’s record renewable energy investment was no one-off, despite the recent economic gloom.”
Last month, Saeed Mohammed al-Tayer, the vice chairman of Dubai’s Supreme Council of Energy, revealed that the Emirate intended to build a new solar park as part of its efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30% by 2030.

Source: http://news.careerstructure.com/article/view/international/801215885/green-energy-boom-could-create-engineering-jobs/

Oil and gas to see recruitment boom despite sector’s lack of confidence

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BRITAIN’S oil and gas industry is set for a recruitment boom, despite claims the Chancellor’s tax hike is continuing to dent business confidence in the North Sea, it was revealed yesterday.

The annual oil and gas survey, published by Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, says that the supplementary tax increase, announced by George Osborne to fund the government’s 1p cut in fuel duty, has had a negative impact on confidence and investment in the UK Continental Shelf.

More than half of oil and gas companies surveyed reported that confidence remained weak and had impacted adversely on future North Sea investment.

But, despite the continuing uncertainty, the report also reveals a dramatic change in recruitment plans by both major operators and contract companies in the North Sea.

A total of 88 per cent of operators expect to increase their staff during the coming year – double the prediction made last November before the announcement of the shock tax increase.

And the recruitment activity among the operators is being driven by expansion plans, according to the author of the report, Cliff Lockyer, from the Fraser of Allander Institute.

His report also reveals that, in the battle to retain staff, some oil firms have been forced to offer 10 per cent pay rises to key employees as well as a range of fringe benefits – from free gym membership to extra days off – to prevent them being poached by rival companies.

According to the report, 63 per cent of operating companies have reported rising activity this year with 50 per cent anticipating the need to increase operations during the coming year and the other 50 per cent anticipating at a least a standstill in current operations. In 2011 every single operator has also reported increasing the numbers of direct staff employed, while last year 29 per cent reported reducing the size of their workforces.

The prospects for recruitment are even more bullish in forecasts for the next three years.

The report states: “In the current survey 88 per cent (43 per cent in the previous survey) of operators expect to increase and 12.5 per cent to reduce their core staff and 63 per cent (57 per cent) to increase their contract staff over the next three years.”

Mr Lockyer said that the ability to recruit personnel in a range of skills, including project engineers, technicians and skilled trades, remained a major problem throughout the North Sea.

During the year, 95 per cent of contractors and 88 per cent of operators increased their pay rates in an effort to retain staff.

The average pay increase was 5.9 per cent for operators and 7.4 per cent for contractors. But some companies  increased their pay by more than 10 per cent to retain key employees.

Source: http://www.scotsman.com/news/uk/oil_and_gas_to_see_recruitment_boom_despite_sector_s_lack_of_confidence_1_1954497

Vacancy – Solar Business Development Manager

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This is a great opportunity to join an international developer and distributor on cutting edge solar PV products

With a turnover of over 1 billion euros and current supply of + 500MW this is truly an established business within solar and energy projects. They have offices throughout Europe and globally and are expanding at a fantastic rate

They are looking for a skilled and experienced Solar Business Development and Sales Associate to drive their business and develop and expand their networks of accredited installers (mid-level) and commercial clients

You should have a passion and drive to work for an international practice and realise the opportunities that come with this. PV and Solar Thermal renewables experience is additionally helpful

http://www.energyjobline.com/career/26161/Solar-Business-Development-Manager-State-Slough

 

 

Aker Solutions moves north

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As the chase for oil and gas moves further north, the oil services industry follows. Today Aker Solutions announces plans to establish a large engineering office in Tromsø as part of the company’s northern Norway strategy.

The new office will gather knowledge and expertise related to the northern region. It will become involved in engineering and maintenance and modification projects on the entire Norwegian continental shelf and abroad, and be an integral part of Aker Solutions’ international competence network.

“We believe in the reserves potential on the Norwegian continental shelf and in the Arctic. If the marked continues to develop positively and we are successful in our efforts to win work with customers in the region, we believe that we will have a substantial engineering hub in the North with 2-300 employees in three to five years,” says executive chairman of Aker Solutions, Øyvind Eriksen.

The establishment of the Tromsø office is part of Aker Solutions’ overall strategy to increase the company’s footprint in the northern regions of Norway, driven by an increasing number of interesting field development opportunities offshore northern Norway and in the Barents Sea.

Aker Solutions have worked closely with suppliers in northern Norway for many years. The Tromsø office will now develop a sourcing strategy for Aker Solutions in northern Norway and further strengthen our relationships with suppliers in the north.

Tromsø is the largest city in this part of Norway and a regional centre with good connections to other key locations in the north and to other Aker Solutions offices in Norway. The university in Tromsø is becoming increasingly involved in oil and gas related research and education programmes, which is expected to fit well with Aker Solutions’ future competence requirements.

Elsewhere in northern Norway, Aker Solutions is in the process of building up a subsea service base – housing engineers, technical staff and field operators – in Hammerfest to support the Goliath subsea field development. Aker Solutions has also recently acquired the Narvik-based well technology business X3M Invent. Aker Solutions is also considering establishing an engineering office in Sandnessjøen to support the company’s modifications and operations services business.

“In June the Norwegian government announced a petroleum policy that clearly spelt out an expectation to the oil industry that activity at sea should have ripple effects on land through job and value creation. We support this drive because it makes business sense to both us and our customers,” adds Øyvind Eriksen.

Aker Solutions is currently looking for suitable permanent office premises in the city. Recruitment for engineers for the Tromsø office will also start this winter.

Aker Solutions today has offices and operations in the following Norwegian locations: Arendal, Asker, Bergen, Egersund, Fornebu, Hammerfest, Horten, Kristiansand, Kristiansund, Lier, Midsund, Moss, Narvik, Oslo, Porsgrunn, Stavanger, Trondheim and Ågotnes.
Source: Aker Solutions

Vacancy – Piping Engineer – Aberdeen

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Execute Piping Discipline engineering activities under the direction of a Lead or Senior Engineer. Work under the supervision of senior engineers to ensure that asset or project discipline engineering activities are executed within budget and schedule, while maintaining technical integrity. • Review, prepare and/or check work output of discipline assigned personnel. • Achieve safety standards as defined in personal performance contract. • Carry out work in accordance with project Health, Safety, Environmental and Quality systems. • Execute engineering activities (Concept, Front End Engineering Development, Technical Study & Detailed Design) • Maintain the required technical quality of work. • Identify scope and schedule changes in accordance with the Change Control Process. • Provide planning and cost control on all scopes. • Ensure that designs comply with the relevant Codes, Standards, Regulations and Procedures. • Provide technical assistance to discipline assigned personnel as required. • Ensure, as far as is practically possible, that all assigned work is carried out in compliance with the agreed budget and schedule. • Develop awareness of technical developments, National and International standards and legislative requirements related to the discipline scope. • Prepare estimates and schedules and assist in their review. • Maintain good communication with the Client. • Maintain the discipline filing system. • Encourage lateral learning within the project. • Carry out site visits where necessary.

http://www.energyjobline.com/career/26153/Piping-Engineer-State-Aberdeen

Vacancy – Senior Electrical Engineer (Solar)

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Our client is a supplier, contractor and installer of solar energy projects. With experience in both ground-based and building integrated PV, they specialise in the built environment, helping property owners transform existing real estate assets into generators of electricity.
Over the past 20 years the group’s low carbon interests have grown to include biofuels, natural gas, smart grid design, coal-based clean energy, energy efficiency and carbon-capturing algae.

http://www.energyjobline.com/career/26164/Senior-Electrical-Engineer-Solar-State-London

Encouraging a new generation of engineers…

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Encouraging a new generation of enthusiastic engineers is vital to supporting the country’s growth, asserts Paul Jackson, Chief Executive of Engineering UK

The engineering sector is at the forefront of rebalancing the UK economy and meeting climate change and renewable energy targets. Success is dependent upon both investment – on a scale not known since reconstruction after World War II – and on significantly boosting the skill levels of the UK workforce.
With almost half a million engineering enterprises in the UK employing 4.5 million people, the engineering industry is one of the most significant drivers of the UK economy today. Industry trade body, the EEF, forecasts 3.8% growth in manufacturing for this year, outstripping the 1.1% for the economy as a whole. Additionally, the manufacturing sector has shown its highest rate of growth for 16 years.  As the low-carbon economy expands, the demand for skilled engineers will be considerable, and engineers are also in demand for some of the country’s major infrastructure projects, such as Crossrail and the Olympics, so this is a good time for graduates to go into engineering. Demand is such that the UK needs to recruit an additional 587,000 workers between by 2017; however, falling numbers of young people available to work means that the sector must act now to identify opportunities to attract and retain talent.
The uptake of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects is increasing. Applicant numbers for all STEM subject groups have increased over an eight year period, including last year. Overall, applicants to engineering are up 14.3% over an eight year period, with the UK’s figures rising to 15.9%. Additionally, figures published in August 2011 show an increase for the fifth consecutive year in the number of students studying A-Level physics, while applications for physics courses at university are also up by more than 17% on last year; according to the Institute of Physics, for the first time since 2002, physics is back in the top 10 most popular subjects.

Read more here http://www.publicservice.co.uk/feature_story.asp?id=17715

Carillion warns of job cuts due to slashing of solar energy subsidies

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Construction company Carillion has warned 4,500 staff their jobs are at risk because of government plans for a dramatic cut in solar energy subsidies.

The company has begun a statutory 90-day consultation period in its energy services division prior to the anticipated slashing of feed-in tariffs.

The tariffs, known as FITs and paid by energy companies to households and communities who produce electricity via solar panels on their roofs, would be more than halved under government proposals.

Ministers are also proposing cutting the subsidies by 12 December instead of April 2012, the date the solar industry is calling for.

It is feared the changes could pose problems for Carillion, whose business includes a project to install and manage 30,000 solar panels for local authority and social housing. It is understood that the number of redundancies at the firm, which employs 50,000 staff worldwide, will be well below 4,500, but Carillion said it was too early to speculate on what the final figure would be.

The company said in a statement: “As a result of the government’s changes to feed-in tariffs for solar photovoltaic installations, Carillion Energy Services proposes to accelerate and widen [its restructuring] programme.

“Our solar business was growing strongly, but we expect the government’s plans for much larger and earlier than expected cuts to feed-in tariffs to reduce the size of the solar PV market significantly. In order to react to the effects of this on our business, we have launched a statutory 90-day consultation process with our people on how we can reshape our business.

“Until the consultation process is complete it is too early to speculate on how many people will be affected, especially as we will explore all opportunities for redeployment.”

The plans to slash financial incentives for installing solar panels has provoked anger from green groups, with Friends of the Earth planning to mount a legal challenge.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change acknowledged the proposed changes would be “very difficult” but insisted it wanted an enduring future for the solar industry.

 

“If we left things as they are, the FIT budget would be eaten up entirely, and that would be even worse for those in this sector and those working on other technologies too,” a spokesman said.

“We believe solar PV can have a strong and vibrant future in the UK and we are proposing changes to ensure a lasting FITs scheme to support that future.”

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/dec/01/carillion-job-cuts-solar-energy?newsfeed=true

 

Iran to sign $20bn oil, gas contracts

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An Iranian oil official says the Islamic Republic will soon sign multi-billion-dollar contracts for the development of its joint oil and gas fields.
Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Ahmad Ghalebani said, “New contracts for developing the joint fields will worth over USD 20 billion,” the official website of Iran’s Oil Ministry, Shana, reported.
The Iranian official also said that a decision would be reached regarding 20 oil fields by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20), adding that the contract for the development of Lavan, Mansouri and Forouz B will be signed in coming weeks.
Yesterday, NIOC and Energy Persia Company signed a contract worth USD 600 million for the development of Yaran oil field in west Iran.
According to Ghalebani, the field will yield 10,000-15,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in early production phase. The 65 square kilometer-oilfield will become officially operational in 24 months and will produce up to 25,000 bpd of crude oil thereafter.
Iran shares oil and gas fields with most of its neighbors in the Persian Gulf region including Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
As the second major oil exporter of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Iran holds the world’s second-largest crude reserves after Saudi Arabia and the second-largest gas reserves after Russia.