The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Fewer students for oil and gas courses
There has been a general uptick in the number of students applying to degree programmes at Aberdeen University revolving around renewables.
It is a different picture for oil and gas-related programmes though, with the amount of prospective students on a downward trend, figures obtained by Energy Voice under freedom of information show.
In 2017-18, Aberdeen University received more than 200 student applications for its MSc degree in oil and gas engineering, including almost 40 females.
But that figure has progressively dropped and in 2020-21 there were only 132 students lodging a bid to pursue the course, and just 23 of those were women.
Similarly there has been a drop in those wanting to study a degree of master of science in subsea engineering, with 45 students applying in 202021 – including just one female – down from 95 in 2017-18.
Despite an upcoming and long-awaited boom in the decommissioning sector, courses related to removing and disposing of assets have suffered too.
Across online and inperson programmes, there were 103 applicants for the degree of master of science in decommissioning in 2017-18.
By 2020-21 that figure had declined majorly and just 34 students put their hat into the ring to study the course.
There were exceptions though, with candidates for courses in global subsea engineering, oil and gas law, and integrated petroleum geosciences holding relatively firm or increasing slightly.
With oil prices rebounding to levels not seen since last decade, concerns have been raised about an imminent energy skills shortage, particularly ahead of the transition push.
Those fears have been aggravated by the level of redundancies since the start of the pandemic, though union figures have said there is “no shortage” of willing workers.
Alix Thom, trade body Offshore Energies UK’s (OEUK) workforce engagement and skills manager, said: “Universities play a key role in attracting people to the energy sector and developing the future talent required across a range of subjects, including engineering, data science, analytics, automation and new materials, all of which will continue to be highly valued as we progress to a lower-carbon economy.”
Oil and gas’s loss has been renewables’ gain though, with figures showing a steady increase in the number of students wanting to study energy transition courses.
Applications to study the university’s MSc in renewable energy engineering increased marginally over the threeyear period.
In 2020-21 342 people applied for the course, up from 327 in 2017-18.
A large gender disparity remains though and of those applicants in 2020-21 just 74 were women, a fall from 91 three years previously.
Interest in the degree of master of engineering in electrical and electronic engineering with renewable energy increased too, from 12 applicants five years ago to 22 most recently.
Aberdeen University was unable to give data on the academic years 2021-2022 or 2022-2023 due to “commercial interests”.
Chief executive of Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group, David Rodger, said: “It is great to see the interest in renewables courses on the rise. This is vital as the broader industrial and societal energy transition builds momentum.”