Life expectancy in the UK is increasing however many of us are saving less into pensions.  Last October, the government introduced workplace pensions and most individuals will be automatically enrolled.  Am I automatically enrolled?

If you were enrolled you, you’re employer and the government will pay into it.  Having a workplace pension makes saving easier and will allow you to keep living the same standard of life when you retire. 

If you opted out of the workplace pension do you have a plan b? It’s never too early to start thinking about your retirement.

Here’s how the workplace pension works;

• Every payday a percentage of your pay is automatically put into the pension scheme for you.
• There are 2 main types of workplaces pensions;

1.       Defined contribution pension schemes

Your employer will chose which pension provider to invest your money into.  When you retire, the amount you receive will depend on:

• How much has been paid in
• How long you’ve been paying in
• How well the investment has done

Nearer the retirement age, the pension provider generally moves your money into lower-risk investments; if this is not done automatically you can ask your pension provider for more details. 

2.       Defined benefit pension schemes

These pensions are also known as ‘final salary’ or ‘salary-related’ pensions.  These pensions will give you a certain amount each year when you retire, the amount doesn’t depend on investments.

How much you get will depend on how long you have worked for your employer and your salary, the pension scheme administrator can give you more information.

• You pay a percentage of your earnings into the scheme, your employer will also contribute and the government will give you tax relief.  Saving couldn’t be easier!

So, if you have opted out of the workplace pension scheme you may want to think about re-joining.

Starting your pension early will give your money time to grow, ask your employer about your workplace pension scheme today.

We love to receive feedback from our users, good or bad!  Fortunately we have had plenty of positive feedback and we thought we would share this with you.

If you were ever in doubt before about why you should use OilCareers.com for your job/candidate search, these testimonials should make your decision-making easier.

Happy Candidates

James Raison, UK: I have used OilCareers for a number of years now, and in fact my past 3 positions were found using the service on the website. I can highly recommend using OilCareers, whether you are seriously looking for a new opportunity or just curious.

Vince Plackal, UAE: It was very interesting to visit your stand at ADIPEC 2012.  I have successfully secured two positions via OilCareers.  OilCareers provides valuable information about opportunities; I will continue to use OilCareers for future vacancies.  Thank you very much.

Happy Clients

Tom Heavens, Aker Solutions: As a new user of OilCareers.com, I have found the site to be efficient and intuitive but most importantly, it gives me great results. I felt that the training I received from Claire in Customer Support really benefitted me and I can now use parts of the site I didn’t previously know existed such as automated searches. The automated search function has become my favourite tool on the site; it’s a pleasure to receive a list of highly suitable candidates waiting for me in my inbox even before I start work in the morning.

Tom Elam, Macdonald & Company: We have been using OilCareers website for 1 year now and have had great success in sourcing good quality candidates for different areas of the oil and gas market.  We have placed candidate’s sources via OilCareers in Engineering/Construction, Drilling, Operations, HSE and HR.  The site is easy to use and Karen our Account Manager is always willing to help and give advice on the market when we need it.  Her years of experience in the sector have given us valuable insight.  OilCareers has also helped Macdonald & Company increase its exposure within this sector and we it as an integral part of our future growth strategy for the business.

As an international recruiter at Aker Solutions Offshore Partner, I can highly recommend oilcareers.com due to the ease of use, customer service, great results and comprehensive search options. I’ll never be stuck for a position again!

James Parker, Change Recruitment: We have used OilCareers for several years now and have trialled others along the way but I have found that OilCareers always performs well for us. I find the site to be user friendly and it continues to produce good results for me and my recruitment team.

The above testimonials highlights why we are the online leading job board for the oil and gas recruitment industry.

The UK Government has relaxed the immigration rules allowing businesses within the oil and gas industry to employ skilled foreign workers.  This news gives the oil and gas industry a boost to help fill specialised engineering jobs from out with the EU Zone.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has advised the immigration authorities to add the twenty new engineering job categories to the Shortage Occupation List (SOL).  The new additions added include mechanical, production and electrical engineering occupations.

Jill Turner, Immigration and employment law expert said; This is really good news for the oil and gas sector which is finding it difficult to recruit specialist engineers. The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has listened to the concerns of employers and has taken steps to make it easier for firms to recruit outside Europe.

“Clients tell me one of their biggest challenges is being able to fill key jobs when bidding for or landing a contract and this creates uncertainty and undermines long term planning and business growth. ”

“MAC have acknowledged that there is a shortage of specialist skills in Aberdeen which is vital to the oil and gas industry and that it’s not possible to train people for those posts in the short term.

“In the last four years 100 job categories have been removed from SOL and it is relief that a so-called sunset clause has been ruled out because this would have made it easier to axe more posts and would be detrimental to recruitment in the energy sector.”

The SOL list is a record of jobs which are in demand and are not affected by the strict immigration rules which can often make it difficult for employers to hire skilled foreign workers.  This change will allow businesses within the oil and gas industry to feel secure that they will have the workers to meet the required demands of the jobs.

Jill Turner, expert on Employment and Immigration law.  Visit Jill Turner’s profile page.

We are in the midst of a huge change in the way we receive our news. Until very recently the power of mass communication was vested only in television companies, radio stations, newspapers and other publications.

But, that is no longer the case. Now, anyone with a computer, or simply a mobile phone, can broadcast a message around the world instantly. 

That really hit home in January 2009 when US Airways flight 1549 ditched in the Hudson River.

Thanks to onlookers in Manhattan and on a passing ferry, the first reports were beamed around the world on Twitter. The first picture was on the web a good 15-minutes before the news channels’ helicopters reached the scene.

As 7,000 people scrambled to see that picture, the server collapsed under the strain.

Social media and the job-seeker

So, what does this have to do with you, as someone seeking a new career in the oil and gas sector?

It means that you have a powerful suite of social media opportunities at your disposal to get your name out there, in front of potential employers.

OilCareers.com recently highlighted on its Facebook page that being ‘head-hunted’ is no longer reserved only for senior management. So it pays to use every opportunity to sell yourself and your skills to potential employers.

Social media opportunities

The recent blog on this website, by Dominic Morris gave you an insight into the ways you can showcase your skills with LinkedIn.

Twitter also has potential if you can master the style of saying something apt and meaningful in just 140 characters. I’m not sure I can see the Evening Standard’s Twesume (half tweet half resume) taking off, giving the limited amount you could say.

However, if you can find some potential employers and other influential people in your sector and persuade them to follow you, then you have the opportunity to put across your strengths.

But, remember how nobody likes an overzealous sales pitch, or the conversation hog at a party who will not stop talking about how brilliant they are. Get your message across with charm and subtlety!

Watch out for the dangers

Hardly a week goes by without our news featuring stories of someone in court, or threatened with court action, as a result of what they said on Twitter, or Facebook.

Even if you don’t say anything libellous, remember your social media comments are public. Your potential future employer would not be the first to Google your name (or username) to see what comes up.

That ill-considered comment you made on Twitter, or Facebook, months ago might just come back to haunt you.

So, before you hit the send button on your next social media update, just make sure you are happy that a potential employer could well see your comment.

Guest blog by Ken McEwen of Ken McEwen Public Relations www.kenmcewen.com

Certain parties will endeavour to make us believe that oil and gas in the North Sea is a dying industry and although this is intrinsically true in that the oil reserves currently under the North Sea are finite; the resources decline will be a slow and drawn out process. As it stands there is currently more oil in the North Sea than has already been produced with the only problem being getting it out the ground!

Oil fields discovered in the 70’s but deemed too hard and expensive at the time to drill are being re-approached by companies as they are able to use improved technologies. Companies are using techniques like horizontal drilling, jack-up facilities and more FPSO’s. In fact, in 2012 Xcite Energy were responsible for the project that saw the Rowan Norway Jack-up become the UK’s most northerly use of a jack-up platform and they intend to go further in the future.

Technological leaps are seeing companies in the UK and Norway create new systems to increase the life of our North Sea fields so we can ensure we get everything possible from a field before its gone. By 2015 we will see the first installation of a Subsea Gas Compression facility by Aker Solutions which will increase the life of the project an estimated 20-25 years.

So what does the future hold?

There is currently £46.7 Billion being spent on 64 active projects in the North Sea, whilst there is a further £11.5 Billion set to be spent on 87 future projects.  So the projects exist and 2012 has seen an increase in drilling with the same number of wells drilled in 2011 being drilled in the first 9 months of 2012. It’s just a case of the operators having to target more of the smaller projects.

Northern North Sea fields will be key in maintaining the North Sea as the European hub of oil and gas along with skilled engineers continuing the advances of technology.

Guest blog by Martin Tidbury, Key Account Manager who specialises in oil and gas for Matchtech.

Warnings that oil industry safety standards are being jeopardised by a shortage of experienced staff are supported by a report published on, Monday 11 March 2013.  32% of respondents to the latest joint report from OilCareers.com, the international jobs board for the oil and gas industry, and partner Air Energi, a global provider of manpower solutions to the energy sector, highlighted the on-going skills shortage as the biggest threat to the sector.  The lack of skilled trainers was identified as a major training issue by over 20%.  The report confirms that heightened safety concerns due to economic instability combined with a continuing strong oil price and the on-going skills shortage, particularly in the LNG and subsea sectors, will continue to push oil related salaries upwards.

The Global Oil & Gas Workforce Survey: Expectations for hires and pay rates in the oil and gas industry (H1) 2013 highlights that ensuring the right personnel are on the ground in the right place will present a continuing challenge for the worldwide oil and gas industry.  The survey requested information and opinions from more than 170,000 oil and gas professionals worldwide.  The seven major oil and gas producing regions are represented in the survey with respondents being drawn from over 50 countries. More than 15,500 were either direct recruiters or senior decision makers.

Employee packages are seeing a general upward trend with specific emphasis being seen in areas that are considered to be high risk.  Mark Guest, managing director of OilCareers.com, said: “The recent tragic events in Algeria have served to further underline existing safety concerns throughout the oil and gas industry.  It has long been the case that positions in certain geographic areas attract a higher level of remuneration to reflect the safety issues associated with the work location.  Companies working in these locations take the security of their personnel very seriously and work to protect them and ensure their working environment is as safe as possible.”

Mark continued, “The 2013 H1 survey and predictions for H2 confirm these safety inflation pressures are being reflected throughout the industry.  In addition it should be noted that without the right personnel in place to train the next generation the skills shortage is likely to continue and to become a bigger problem.”

Ian Langley, group executive chairman of Air Energi, added: “Just over 34% of those responding to the survey perceived economic instability as being the biggest threat to today’s oil and gas industry. The skills shortage was a very close second; 32% view this as being a major challenge to overcome.  In particular the shortage of subsea and LNG personnel is being felt throughout the industry and has a knock on effect in terms of project costs and delays.”

View the full report at

http://www.oilcareers.com/onstream/workforce-survey/

At OilCareers.com, the world’s largest online dedicated oil and gas jobs board, our objective is to provide our candidates with access to a variety of positions spanning the entire oil and gas supply chain and in turn provide recruiters and organisations with the highest quality skills to meet their needs.

That’s why, with the oil and gas forecast for the North Sea predicting a jobs boom of up to 50,000 new vacancies in light of recent prospects and developments, but the industry still feeling pressure from the lingering overcast of the global skills gap, our job has never been more important.

In line with supporting employers in their search, OilCareers.com in association with Forces Employment Fairs, an organisation with 26 years of experience in running events for the Armed Forces, recently introduced the Armed Forces Employment Fair to Aberdeen’s Exhibition and Conference Centre for the first time. This introduction aimed to attract fresh talent to the sector by means of transferable skills.

The fair saw 34 major multinational oil and gas organisations exhibiting and over 400 armed forces personnel turning out in search of new career opportunities and was open to all individuals regardless of whether they were in resettlement phase or just thinking of leaving.

The event not only offered sought after opportunities to employers, but in light of The Ministry of Defence announcing that a third round of 5,300 Army redundancies are to be made in June, the transferable needs of the energy sector also present a sustainable and secure outlook to families who face an otherwise uncertain future.

The Armed Forces Employment fair created a crucial shared value platform for all parties and with such a high level of turn out and positive feedback, it can be said that the event was a resounding success and just one of the on-going commitments that OilCareers.com continue to make in order to meet the growing recruitment needs of the oil and gas industry going forward.

OilCareers.com is a sponsor and exhibitor at the Australasian Oil and Gas Exhibition and Conference, known as AOG on 20-22 February 2013 in Perth, Western Australia. AOG is Australia’s largest oil & gas exhibition, with over 450 exhibitors from 16 countries and is a must-attend event for the oil & gas industry.

As part of the exhibition, OilCareers.com will be hosting an exciting prize draw centre, where delegates will be invited to participate in a “ticket grab booth” game, putting them in the running to win an iPad mini.   Visit us at booth 9 to be in with a chance to win!

OilCareers.com is also the naming rights sponsors for the Graduate Careers Day which is run in conjunction with the AOG conference on 22 February.  Now in its third year, Graduate Careers is an integral meeting point for employers and graduates and will attract more than 1000 delegates. The program gives tertiary students a better understanding of oil & gas career opportunities presented by the growing oil & gas industry, including graduate programs & vacation work.  OilCareers.com will be exhibiting at the Careers Day event to meet graduates and help them kick start their careers by registering on our site.

For more information about AOG, visit www.aogexpo.com.au

CV Checker is very proud to be the new selected professional CV writing partner for OilCareers.com.

When you commission CV Checker to write your CV, you will receive a dedicated service from our most appropriate consultant who is highly qualified with significant expertise within Oil and Gas. They will conduct an in-depth telephone consultation or ask you to complete our comprehensive skills probe form in order to establish your future career aspirations, qualify and quantify your achievements, create your core competencies, highlight your transferable skills and make your CV keyword effective. We do not use templates, or cut and paste when producing your CV; it is a unique and extremely important document that we know you will be proud of. Your new document will be tailored to your target audience and salary expectations within five working days.

A professionally written, powerfully worded and easy to read CV will tell the reader what they need to know, quickly and succinctly. Your CV is the most valuable document you can own – CV Checker can provide you with that document.

Please read some of our recent fantastic statistics;

Within 4 weeks, 91% of our clients had a new job offer

29% of our clients increase their salaries by 25% after using our services

Why not come and have a taster session and speak to a consultant for our free CV review service to get your CV checked for the January job rush?  Click here for your free review.

You’ve made the decision to further your career.  Now it’s time to start the job hunt.  If you are reading this blog you have landed in the right place!  OilCareers.com has thousands of live vacancies within the oil and gas sector – the key is knowing how to search for them.

To begin your search visit the Job Search page.  Select the category that most interests you and to ensure you see the most relevant jobs you should also select a sub-category and if appropriate a relevant region. Once these sections have been selected, click search.

You can narrow down your job search further within the Job Search page by entering keywords, or specific cities in the specified field.  If you are looking for a specific job type such as contract, staff or part-time positions you can select this from the drop down box.  To specify how the vacancies are listed, you can specify from the ‘Order By’ drop down box.

Found your dream job? It’s now time to apply.  You will have to register for an account with OilCareers.com – registering is free, quick and simple!  Click here to register. Registration will only take a few moments, but if you have any problems please contact the office and we will be happy to guide you through the process.

When registering, the second section – Your Skills, is a crucial part to finding your next job! We recommend that you choose as many primary and secondary skills as you can. Within your account you can sign up to job alerts and have the system send you new jobs that match your criteria. The skills you select will ensure that the correct job alerts are emailed to you.

Don’t miss out on potential job opportunities – register your CV/resume today!