Lord Campbell of CroyMy Lords, on the behalf of my noble friend Lord Sandys, who cannot be here today owing to illness, and at his request, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in his name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what action is being taken to improve the training and skills of those employed in the offshore oil and gas industries.
§ The Minister of State, Scottish Office (Lord Gray of Contin)My Lords, the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Board provides courses for a wide spectrum of training needs offshore. This is put into effect through industry training associations as well as through the more traditional establishments such as the Robert Gordon Institute of Technology. The Department of Energy has issued guide notes on the training of various safety specialists.
Lord Campbell of CroyMy Lords, I thank my noble friend for that reply, which is very satisfactory. Is he satisfied that the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Board is working effectively with the operators and their contractors and that, on safety and survival training, sufficient numbers are passing through the courses available?
§ Lord Gray of ContinMy Lords, I can answer that quite briefly, inasmuch as the department is satisfied that those measures are working effectively. My noble friend will recall that as a result of the Offshore Safety Report by the Burgoyne Committee in 1980 the Department of Energy appointed an inspector on part-time duties to monitor the safety regimes needed and offered industry-wide offshore. That inspector is an assessor for the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Board and also for the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Training Board, both of which he supervises.
Lord Campbell of CroyMy Lords, is my noble friend aware that in North Sea operations more graduates are needed with science qualifications? Will the Government do more to encourage the production of graduates with such qualification; for example, in geology and petroleum engineering?
§ Lord Gray of ContinMy Lords, the Government are doing their utmost to encourage postgraduate courses in those subjects. Indeed, there is an added incentive. It may be of interest to my noble friend to 502 know the Department of Energy itself has difficulty in obtaining geologists and geophysicists because of the attractive terms offered by the oil industry.
§ Lord AnnanMy Lords, what does the noble Lord mean when he says that the Government are doing their utmost to encourage university graduates?
§ Lord Gray of ContinMy Lords, the Department of Education and Science has made known on many occasions the facilities that exist for engineering students, and through that medium the Government have expressed themselves in the hope that more students will select engineering for their professional career.