Labour has pledged to introduce a "skills passport" for oil and gas workers as part of plans to protect North Sea jobs.

Shadow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray was in Aberdeen on Wednesday to convey the plan to industry, which has been largely critical of Labour's plans for the energy sector, including plans to increase the Energy Profits Levy and remove investment allowances.

The passport, which has support across Scottish and UK Governments, has been in the pipeline for a number of years.

Mr Murray says it would allow employees to "move flexibly back and forth" between the oil and gas industry and renewable energy industry.

The only Labour MP to win a seat at the last general election was in Aberdeen on Wednesday to speak to industry.

But former MP and current candidate for Aberdeen South, and the SNP's leader at Westminster, Stephen Flynn, accused Labour of not putting Scotland's interest first.

He said: "In news that will shock thousands, the Labour Party pay so little attention to the north-east that they don’t even seem to know that the Scottish Government is already funding the development of a skills passport.

“Given that, what the Labour Party should be announcing today is a withdrawal of their destructive energy plans that would see up to 100,000 job cuts – the SNP will continue to oppose those plans and put Scotland’s interest first."

'Cut the red tape'

Mr Murray says transitioning between oil and gas to renewables must be made easier.

"The present situation, where training in one industry isn’t recognised in the other, cuts off opportunities for oil and gas workers. The fact some workers are paying out of their own pockets is scandalous," he said.

“We need to cut that red tape and deliver a skills passport that allows offshore workers to move flexibly back and forth between both industries in the years and decades to come and which harnesses the potential of our world class workforce to make Scotland a world leader in clean energy.”

Meanwhile, former energy minister and current Conservative candidate for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Andrew Bowie, claimed: "Keir Starmer doesn’t understand what’s already happening in the energy industry, or the economic carnage his plans will create in the North-east.

He added: "Yes, the SNP have failed to give offshore workers the springboard they need to work in renewables, shown by the tiny number of Scots who say they work in that sector.

"Skills passports are one part of the solution, and that’s why the cross-industry group OPITO is already engaging on a UK-wide basis, to look at how technical and safety standards can align.

"It’s already happening in Aberdeen and I don’t think Labour has any acumen to add to what experts are already doing."

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