AMID all the uncertainty affecting the economy and the labour market, Scotland has reasons to be grateful for the fact it is home to a buoyant oil and gas industry.

While firms in many sectors have been laying people off, the talk in Aberdeen oil and gas circles is all about how difficult firms are finding it to recruit the people they need.

Working in areas ranging from exploration to supplying provisions to offshore rigs, Scottish businesses are benefiting from the fact that the skills they developed in the North Sea are eminently exportable.

With its stormy deeps, the North Sea is recognised as one of the most challenging environments in the world.

While the global economic outlook is unclear demand for oil and gas is set to increase, driven by continued economic expansion in countries like China and India.

This will encourage companies to put more effort into searching for oil and gas in deep waters around the world, creating opportunities for operators with the right credentials.

The trend will also boost demand for know-how in areas like subsea engineering, with which Scotland is well-endowed.

Scottish firms have been gearing up to make the most of opportunities overseas.

This week Ferguson Group said it has been increasing production of the offshore accommodation modules that it designs to help fulfil orders won by its offices in places like Singapore.

Continued high levels of mergers and acquisitions activity in the industry in Scotland show some hard-headed operators believe there will be lots of money to make in the sector in future.

Experts predict that there will be more takeovers in coming months.

Trevor Burgess, managing director of private equity firm Lime Rock’s European business, said: “The entrepreneurial energy and technological leadership of the oil industry in the UK and Norway remain vigorous, and we are impressed by the opportunities in the North Sea and Europe.”

While many local services firms have been reducing their reliance on the North Sea, there is still plenty of money to be made in the mature province.

Last week Trevor Garlick, who heads BP’s operations in the area, said: “People are ill-informed when they talk about this area being over.”

Although the Chancellor’s decision to hike North Sea taxes in the Budget sparked an outcry, the signs are that firms will continue to invest in projects that are on the scale needed to generate the returns they want.

Last month BP and Shell confirmed plans to proceed with the £3 billion redevelopment of the Schiehallion and Loyal fields off Shetland, which will generate lots of work for contractors.

Mr Garlick has said BP expects to sanction three more bumper projects this year. The North Sea business plans to recruit 300 people this year and the same again in 2012.

The Coalition Government could reduce the threat of operators reducing investment in marginal projects by offering further tax breaks for smaller and technically-challenging fields.

Services firms could also enjoy a bonanza in coming years as oil and gas platforms and related assets reach the end of their useful lives.

The head of the specialist decomissioning industry body Decom North, Brian Nixon, notes that more than £1 billion a year of decommissioning expenditure is forecast for the UK North Sea by 2015.

The skills learned in oil and gas services could also prove to be useful to renewables companies as they try to boost the UK’s offshore wind generating capacity.

Mr Nixon is bullish about the prospects that people with the right skills enjoy.

“Many North Sea supply chain companies could find themselves with a choice of business opportunities, ranging from support for ongoing oil & gas development and production, to the growing programme of decommissioning, and emerging offshore wind developments,” he said.

“This in turn has created serious and exciting career opportunities for those with the right skills.”