Labour has called for an offshore passport scheme which would allow workers to shift between the hydrocarbon and renewables sectors.
Norwich South MP Clive Lewis said the move would help the transition towards net zero carbon emissions and would be an “opportunity” to learn from the mistakes of closing mines in the 1980s.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Lewis said both workers and unions backed offshore training passports as a way of migrating oil and gas workers into green jobs.
An integrated people and skills plan, led by OPITO, is expected to be published shortly under the North Sea Transition Deal.
'Prohibitive cost'
Mr Lewis told the house: "Training certificates for wind energy and the oil and gas industry are not transferable between the sectors or recognised by the two separate training standards bodies.
"That means that offshore workers seeking to transition into renewables from oil and gas are required to complete entirely new training courses, which often come at a prohibitive cost.
"While some courses are unique to different environments, many cover core skills that run across the offshore energy sector, including first aid, fire safety and working at heights."
Mr Lewis said that standardised training would mean that, while there are not sufficient jobs in renewable energy as capacity continues to be built up, workers would be able to take contracts in both sectors and then move between them.
He added: "It would prevent a skills drain as people leave the energy sector altogether due to difficulties with finding work, and the cost and time involved in maintaining training certificates."
OPITO plan
Mr Lewis attempted, unsuccessfully, to get the passports included as an amendment to the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill. The amendment was voted down by the government,
Education minister Alex Burghart responded saying the government was already taking steps to support “the labour market transition to net zero”.
"I can assure him (Mr Lewis) that one of the commitments made in the North Sea Transition Deal was to develop an integrated people and skills plan, led by OPITO, which is expected to be published shortly.
"It will assess the industry’s future skills, training and standards requirements, and will set out how the industry will support and enable the transition of the workforce.
"The deal also places commitments on industry to ensure that the workforce’s skills and competencies are mutually recognised across energy sectors to enable smoother job transferability."