Workers in the oil and gas industry will get speedier access to a “skills passport” enabling them to make the transition into jobs in the renewable energy sector.

The passport, overseen by industry bodies RenewableUK and Offshore EnergiesUK – and supported by the UK and Scottish Governments, aims to align standards, recognise transferable skills and qualifications such as oil and gas safety standards, and map out career pathways for suitable roles.

A digital tool for workers is set to be piloted by January 2025, officials said, as they pointed to research from Offshore Energies UK showing that 90% of oil and gas workers have transferable skills for offshore renewable jobs.

Energy secretary Ed Miliband, who visits Aberdeen today, will an agreement with the Scottish Government to boost the efforts of GB Energy, the publicly-owned energy company, efforts to support clean energy supply chains and infrastructure.

GB Energy will be based in Aberdeen and is backed by £8.3bn of funding over this parliament, largely financed by the windfall tax on oil and gas company profits.

Ahead of his visit, Mr Miliband said: “Scottish energy workers will power the United Kingdom’s clean energy future – including in carbon capture and storage, in hydrogen, in wind, and with oil and gas for decades to come as part of a fair transition in the North Sea.

“Unlike in the past, we’re also working closely with the Scottish Government with a new agreement to ensure our publicly-owned company Great British Energy is primed to accelerate clean energy investment in Scotland.”

Scotland’s acting Secretary for Net Zero and Energy Gillian Martin said: “Scotland already has a strong pipeline of clean energy and supply chain opportunities, is at the forefront of floating offshore wind development, and has a depth of knowledge and experience on community and local energy.

“We look forward to working with Great British Energy to ensure it delivers real benefits for the people of Scotland and a just energy transition.”

She added: “To make sure that no offshore energy workers are left behind, the Scottish Government provided initial funding of £3.7m between 2022-2024 for the development of the industry-led skills passport.”

Scottish Secretary Ian Murray added: “It should be easier to switch between oil and gas and renewables work offshore.

“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.

“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.”

David Whitehouse, chief executive of Offshore Energies UK, said the skills passport was an “important part of the toolkit industry is assembling in recognition of the integrated nature of the energy landscape.

“Those working in our domestic oil and gas sector have powered the country for the last 50 years and will play a critical role in our energy future,” he said.

The Government has also announced that Liz Ditchburn has been appointed as chair of the North Sea Transition Authority, which regulates and influences the oil, gas, carbon storage and offshore hydrogen industries to deliver plans for the energy transition for the North Sea.