Businesses operating in the oil and gas industry are facing a "hiring dilemma", as the number of skilled workers is far outstripped by the vacancies being created by ongoing growth in the sector.

That is according to John Breed, a spokesman for Global Corp, one of the largest offshore drilling firms in the world, who explained that years of underinvestment in the recruitment and training of workers has left the industry seriously short of skilled workers.

Coupled with a recent acceleration in efforts to find new resources, with major discoveries having been made off the costs of Brazil and Saudi Arabia in the past few months, this has led to many industry chiefs looking to step up their employment efforts.

For example, Noble is planning on bringing five new drilling rigs on line in the near future, though this will require the recruitment of up to 1500 new workers, an increase of 20 per cent on current levels, with this shortage currently being seen across the board.

"You go from a guy on the floor with mud on his hands and a wrench, to a guy working on electronics," Mr Breed told CNN.

"We face a hiring dilemma."

Oil & Gas Directory: Training & Development