SUBSEA industry players could create around 8,000 jobs in the UK over the next three years as the development of new energy technologies fuels demand for their services a survey has found.
The survey was completed for the new Global Underwater Hub (GUH) in Aberdeen ahead of the official launch of the facility today.
The hub was developed with £13m support from the UK and Scottish Governments to help maximise the potential of what is already reckoned to be a world-leading industry.
GUH chief executive Neil Gordon said: “The exponential growth of the blue economy presents an unprecedented scale of opportunity on which the UK’s world-renowned underwater industry can capitalise.
He added: “Already expanding on a global level, with multi-billion opportunities in emerging sectors where skills and technology are eminently transferable, such as floating offshore wind, wave and tidal energy, CCUS and hydrogen, the industry is also buoyed by the growth potential in aquaculture, oceanology, defence and the continuing evolution of the oil and gas sector.”
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However, Mr Gordon cautioned: “Norway, France, Canada, Japan and Brazil are investing heavily in challenging the UK’s competitiveness.”
The hub reckons it can play an important role in supporting the development of the subsea sector. This will involve promoting collaboration between firms, gathering market intelligence, and providing support for businesses to scale up.
The Aberdeen hub employs 15 people. Numbers are expected to rise to 30.
Two hubs will launch in England in the next 12 months.
The subsea sector employs around 45,000 people in the UK currently.
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The majority of firms are based in Scotland.
The business case for GUH which Scottish Enterprise and Subsea UK helped to produce, found the subsea industry in the UK could create around 180,000 jobs and achieve a five-fold increase in annual revenues to around £45bn by 2035.
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