Wednesday 16 May 2012

Energy sector could benefit from change to education, says recruitment specialist

More needs to be done to encourage young people to develop the necessary skills they need to find jobs in the energy sector. That’s the message from a recruitment boss, who says the UK Government needs to do more to stimulate the skills the UK needs.

Paul Flynn, Managing Director of specialist offshore recruiters Earthstaff said: “The bottom line is there are too high a proportion of people not going on to higher education and developing marketable skills… Pupils need to be in school to 18, minimum. It needs to be more driven to the needs of business. Ultimately, the country needs to make a profit. Without that, there is nothing to invest.”

Employment in the energy sector is an ever popular subject- many renewable groups say the shortage of graduates coming through could prevent the UK from leading in new fields.

A report released today by the Office for National Statistics shows that although employment is just about on the up, unemployment of 16-24 year olds is still high. The Centre for Economics and Business Research also suggests the outlook for the future looks difficult as unemployment is likely to increase over the next five years.

Carmen Watson, Managing Director of Pertemps said the employment figures needed special attention: “With unemployment decreasing last month and the number of people getting into part time work rising… the outlook should technically look good for the future. However there is still more work to be done, particularly for vulnerable groups such as young people.”