Cogent SSC Limited has been operating since April 2002 as one of the
first Sector Skills Councils, and has recently expanded its remit and
will soon receive a full five year licence from Secretary of State for
Education and skills, Charles Clark, making it the SSC for Chemicals,
Nuclear, Oil and Gas, Petroleum and Polymers.
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Most goods used by people in their
homes, at work and in their everyday activities are products derived
from the oil and gas extraction, chemicals manufacturing and petroleum
industries.
The combined sectors enable the
production not only of fuel for cars and heating for homes, but also
of bitumen, plastics, cleaning products, paints and inks, synthetic
fibres for clothing and furniture, dyestuffs, pharmaceuticals and many
more products essential for the whole country to function.
Nearly half a million people in
the UK work in the industries represented by cogent,
from the operator on an oil platform in the North Sea to the shop
assistant at the local petrol station, from the control room operator
of a chemical processing plant to the pipeline fitter in an oil
refinery and the driver of the domestic fuel delivery van.
The combined industries are of
huge economic and strategic importance to the UK, contributing over
£114 billion to its performance. However, they face significant
changes in the demands placed on their workforce from global
competition, increasing public expectations for cleaner and safer
products, new technology, workforce demographics and sustainable
development requirements.
Enhancing skills across the UK
represents a significant opportunity for the oil and gas extraction,
chemicals manufacturing and petroleum industries to boost their
productivity and respond to the challenge.
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