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To land full-time female offshore jobs, you need five things. Those are current offshore safety training, a technical or trade skill that’s in short supply, the stamina for rotation work, clear communication on mixed crews, and a willingness to keep retraining. All five are learnable, and none requires you to already be on a rig.
“Offshore” covers a lot of ground. Here it means oil and gas platforms, offshore wind, and maritime work at sea. Most of the numbers below come from UK and global industry bodies, so pay figures are in pounds.
Let’s be honest about the starting point. Offshore is still male-dominating workplace. As per Offshore Energies UK women share in offshore roles has sat at around 3.4% to 3.6% for years. energyvoice
Renewables look better, but less so in technical jobs. According to IRENA’s 2025 gender report women hold only 32% of full-time renewable energy jobs out of which only 19% of senior leadership positions.
If you look at job types 45% of women staff is in administration, 28% have STEM-related jobs, and 22% in technical and trade roles like electricians and machine operators. As per IRENA these barriers are less about skills or interests and more about entrenched cultural and organizational norms. Women hold 32% of full-time jobs in the renewable energy sector, IRENA report finds +2
Now the good news. Demand is real. The 2026 BIMCO and International Chamber of Shipping workforce report estimates a global shortage of 39,100 officers, with engineering and deck officers the hardest to hire. The same report says the rise in female seafarers is concentrated among officer positions. bimcobimco
So the door is open. Here’s what gets you through it.
Nobody steps onto a platform or vessel without it. For UK-style offshore work, Prospects explains that you’ll need an industry-standard safety course such as MIST, and OPITO courses like BOSIET and FOET cover offshore safety and helicopter emergency response. At sea, the equivalent is STCW certification, the international standard for seafarers. prospects
This goes first because it’s the quickest way to show you’re serious. A current certificate tells an employer you won’t be a risk to the crew. Before you pay for anything, check which standards the employer accepts, since requirements differ by country and company. Ask whether they’ll sponsor the course too. Some do.
Safety training gets you through the gate. A skill gets you hired.
Look at where the gaps are. BIMCO’s data shows an officer shortage alongside a surplus of about 56,890 ratings. In energy, IRENA’s numbers show women are thinnest in STEM and trade roles. That means employers have both room and reason to hire them. bimco
Good skills to build include electrical, mechanical, instrument and control maintenance, process operations, marine engineering and subsea work. Prospects points to the APTUS apprenticeship in Scotland, which offers electrical, instrument and control, mechanical and process operations tracks. prospects
Pay follows skill. Prospects, citing Reed, lists offshore drillers at roughly £30,000 to £50,000, subsea engineers at about £70,000, and drilling consultants at £150,000 or more. prospects
No degree? That’s not a dead end. BIMCO found almost two-thirds of respondents say it’s easy or very easy to find a berth for rating trainees. Starting as a rating and working up is a real route. bimco
Rotation work is its own lifestyle. Prospects says offshore staff typically work 12-hour shifts for two or three weeks, then get the same amount of time off, and the job can feel isolating. Employers also expect you to be physically fit and to follow strict safety protocols. prospectsprospects
This isn’t about being a gym person. It’s about being steady. You need to sleep well on shift, handle homesickness, and stay patient when weather delays a crew change. Build up with regular strength and cardio work. If you can, try something similar first, like night shifts or a remote posting. Expect to pass an offshore medical as well.
On a small crew, communication is a safety skill. You’ll give handovers, report near misses, and sometimes challenge someone more senior. When women are such a small share of the workforce, that takes confidence.
IRENA’s survey found almost half of the women working in renewable energy reported some form of gender-based discrimination. That’s not a reason to stay away. It’s a reason to know how you’ll handle it. pv-magazine
Practice saying things plainly. Learn the company’s reporting routes before you sign. Find a mentor early, and look into women’s networks in the energy industry. In interviews, ask direct questions. How many women are on the crew? Are facilities and properly fitted PPE provided? Who handles complaints? Good employers answer without squirming.
The industry is shifting under everyone’s feet. Prospects reports that UK oil and gas workers are predicted to fall from 115,000 in 2024 to between 57,000 and 71,000 by the early 2030s. Meanwhile, IRENA estimates the renewable workforce reached 16.2 million jobs in 2023 and could grow to around 30 million by 2030. prospectswaterpowermagazine
So the people who stay employed are the ones whose skills travel. Pick skills that work on a gas platform and a wind farm alike: electrical, mechanical, safety and project coordination. Add digital basics too, like condition monitoring and data tools. Treat every certificate as a stepping stone, not a finish line.
| Skill | What employers want | How to start |
| Safety training | Current certificates (MIST, BOSIET, FOET, STCW) | Book accredited courses, ask what the employer accepts |
| Technical skill | Electrical, mechanical, marine or process know-how | Apprenticeship, college course or rating-to-officer route |
| Stamina | Fitness and resilience for long rotations | Build fitness, trial similar shift work |
| Communication | Clear reporting, confidence on mixed crews | Practice, find a mentor, learn reporting routes |
| Adaptability | Skills that transfer across oil, gas and wind | Learn digital and low-carbon basics |
Skills matter most once they’re in front of the right employer. You can search current openings on Yulys, including engineering, marine and energy roles. If your resume doesn’t show your certificates clearly, the resume builder makes an ATS-friendly version in minutes. And you can job-hunt from your phone with the Yulys app.
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Employers who want to reach more women in technical fields can post a job on Yulys.
Full-time female offshore jobs are still rare, but the numbers show real demand and a slowly closing gap. If you build safety credentials, one solid technical skill and the stamina to match, you’re hard to ignore. Add communication and adaptability, and you’ll keep moving up while the industry changes around you.
Yes. Many routes start with apprenticeships or rating roles. The APTUS scheme, for example, asks for maths and English at the required grades, such as four GCSEs at grades 4 to 9 including those subjects, rather than a degree. Prospects
No. Prospects says around 90% of oil and gas roles are based onshore, so there are plenty of office, planning and support jobs alongside offshore ones. prospects
Commonly two or three weeks on and the same time off, with 12-hour shifts while you’re out there.
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