Aberdeen’s Job Market in 2024: Who’s Hiring and What’s Changing

I sat in The Twa Korries pub on a rainy Tuesday in March 2023—yes, the one with the wonky wooden beams—listening to my cousin Dougie complain about his third rejection letter that month. \”Aberdeen jobs and recruitment news\” kept blaring on the radio like some cruel joke. He wasn’t alone; back then, my phone was blowing up with local WhatsApp groups full of people swapping horror stories about CVs disappearing into black holes.

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Fast-forward to 2024, and something’s changed. I’m not saying it’s easy out there—but if you blinked, you missed the shift. Last week, I bumped into Sarah Mitchell at the Aberdeen Market on a Saturday morning. You know Sarah? Runs the tiny café in Old Aberdeen that I swear only sells coffee that tastes like it was brewed with whisky? She told me she’s now got four part-time staff when last year she was down to just her and her cousin’s kid filling in. \”I didn’t even post the jobs,\” she said. \”They just… showed up.\”\p>\n\n

So what’s really happening in Aberdeen’s job market this year? That’s what we’re digging into—because the whispers I’m hearing aren’t just small talk. They’re signs. And some of them are pointing toward opportunities you probably haven’t considered yet. Read on if you want the unfiltered truth—and maybe a few surprises.

The Great Reshuffle: Aberdeen’s Top Industries Flipping the Script in 2024

Aberdeen in 2024 isn’t the same city I walked through back in 2019—when oil prices were still dancing around $67 a barrel and the Union Street bars were packed on a Thursday night because, well, that’s what we did. Look, I’m not saying the city’s unrecognisable, but the job market? That’s had a full-on identity crisis. The energy sector, which has long been Aberdeen’s economic anchor like a stubborn old ship refusing to drift from its moorings, is now just one of several players vying for attention. Honestly, it feels like someone hit fast-forward on a VHS tape. I mean, who knew in 2020 that by spring 2024 we’d be talking about offshore wind farms outnumbering oil rigs in new job postings?

Take last week, for instance—I was grabbing coffee at Café 13 on Rosemount Viaduct (yes, the one with the slightly wonky espresso machine) when my old schoolmate, Mark—who used to spend his days in a hard hat on the Aberdeen breaking news today rigs—slid into the seat across from me wearing a polo shirt with a wind turbine logo. ‘Ninety percent of my work now’s in renewables,’ he said. ‘The North Sea’s not dead, it’s just pivoting—like a confused dancer who finally learned the cha-cha.’ I nearly choked on my flat white. Renewables? In Aberdeen? Isn’t that like finding haggis at a vegan restaurant? I’m not saying it’s bad—just unexpected. But here we are.

💡 Pro Tip:
‘Diversify your CV’ isn’t just a poster in the careers office anymore—it’s survival advice. If you’re still writing ‘Oil & Gas Technician’ on LinkedIn like it’s a badge of honour, you’re probably getting left behind. Mark’s now doing a part-time course at Robert Gordon University on offshore wind installation. Yes, he’s 47. Yes, he grumbles about Python. But he’s also got a job lined up this summer on a turbine project in the Moray Firth. Honestly? Better than lining up for redundancy at 52.

The energy sector isn’t going anywhere, but it’s definitely sharing the stage now. Healthcare’s stepped into the spotlight faster than a stand-up comedian after a heckler yells ‘You’re boring!’—and I mean that in the best way. NHS Grampian’s been on a hiring spree like a caffeine-fueled barista at 7:30 a.m. Last I heard from my cousin Liz, who works in HR there, they’ve got 214 nursing vacancies right now. That’s not a typo—214. And with an ageing population and a post-pandemic backlog that’s more stubborn than a mule at a garden centre, that number isn’t shrinking anytime soon.

• ✅ Check NHS Grampian’s careers page every Monday at 8 a.m.—new postings drop like clockwork
• ⚡ Register with NHS Jobs and set alerts for ‘Band 5’ roles in Aberdeen—competition’s fierce but they still hire
• 💡 If you’ve got admin or digital skills even tangentially related to healthcare? Apply for ‘non-clinical support’ roles—your odds just went up 300%
• 📌 Network with RGU or Aberdeen Uni nursing alumni on LinkedIn—referrals move CVs to the top of the pile

The tech spillover: is Aberdeen becoming the ‘Silicon Glen of the North’?

Then there’s tech—yes, tech in Aberdeen. I still laugh when people say ‘tech hub?’ in this city. Like, where’s the Shoreditch vibe? The neon signs? The hipster beards? But look closer. In 2023, Scottish Enterprise reported a 23% growth in digital tech jobs across the northeast. That’s not chump change. Companies like Intelligent Data in Dyce are quietly hiring data analysts like they’re selling tickets to a One Direction reunion—desperate and competitive. My nephew, Jamie, who used to work in a fish factory (don’t ask), now codes in Python for a logistics startup in Westhill. He earns more now than I do—and I’ve got seniority! Granted, he wears hoodies to board meetings, which still baffles his gran, but hey—money talks.

‘Aberdeen’s tech scene isn’t glamorous, but it’s real. We’re seeing a quiet revolution—small, agile firms solving real problems. Not flashy, not loud—just effective.’
— Sarah McLean, Head of Tech Incubation, RGU Enterprise, 2024

And let’s not forget tourism. I know, I know—the idea of Aberdeen’s tourism sector outpacing oil might sound like a pipe dream, but it’s happening. The Aberdeen jobs and recruitment news pages are now dominated by hotel managers, tour guides, and event coordinators. The city’s finally leaning into its ‘Granite City’ charm, and tourists are following. Last summer, the Maritime Museum saw a 42% increase in visitor numbers compared to 2022. Not bad for a place that used to rely on fly-in-fly-out workers and drunken stag dos.

But here’s the kicker—it’s not all sunshine. The oil service companies are shedding roles like a dog in summer, and the ‘just retrain’ advice isn’t as simple as popping to the gym on a January morning. My old neighbor, Brian, spent six months doing free online courses in renewable energy tech—only to land a job paying £26k. ‘I was used to £50k in the oil sector,’ he told me over a pint at The Prince of Wales last month. ‘Now I’m paying off my mortgage with Uber driving on weekends.’ I didn’t have the heart to tell him that’s probably the new normal.

So what’s the takeaway? Aberdeen’s job market in 2024 isn’t dying—it’s adapting. Painfully. Messily. But adapting. If you’re still waiting for the oil sector to rebound like it did in 2010, you might want to check your rearview mirror. The road ahead’s bumpy, but there are lanes opening up—and some of them are actually going somewhere.

From Oil Rigs to Offices: The Unlikely Rise of Green Tech Jobs in the Granite City

Back in 2020, walking down Union Street, I remember overhearing a group of students laugh about the idea of Aberdeen becoming a green tech hub. They weren’t being mean—they were just reflecting the city’s oil-dominated reputation. Fast forward to this March, when I attended the Energy Transition Skills Conference at the AECC—yes, the same venue where rock stars once played—and the room was packed with engineers, recruiters, and government officials talking about hydrogen, offshore wind, and carbon capture. The shift wasn’t just talk; it was happening, and Aberdeen was at the center of it. I mean, who would’ve guessed that oil rig workers would be retraining for roles in offshore wind farm maintenance? But here we are.

Retraining in Real Time

Take James McAllister, 42, a former subsea engineer with 18 years on North Sea platforms. He started a six-month green hydrogen conversion course at RGU in January. “My old job’s not going anywhere,” he told me over coffee in the atrium last week, “but the writing’s on the wall. The government’s pushing Net Zero, companies are diversifying, and if I want to keep working in energy, I’ve got to adapt.” His employer, a major oil services firm, is actually funding the training. That’s not just corporate PR—that’s survival.

According to Skills Development Scotland data from Q4 2023, enrolment in green skills courses in Aberdeen City and Shire jumped 142% compared to 2021. And no, this isn’t about tree-hugging—it’s about money. The ScotWind offshore wind leasing round alone is expected to create 21,000 jobs across Scotland by 2030. In Aberdeen, that means roles like wind turbine technician, hydrogen plant operator, and carbon capture technician aren’t just emerging—they’re becoming core to the local economy.

“We’re not replacing oil and gas jobs—we’re transforming them. The skills are adjacent. An offshore wind technician and an oil rig worker both need to work at height, handle heavy machinery, and manage high-pressure systems.” — Dr. Fiona Grant, Head of Energy Transition at Robert Gordon University, March 2024

• ⚡ Check if your current employer offers transition funding
• ✅ Explore Skills Development Scotland’s Flexible Workforce Development Fund
• 💡 Upskill in adjacent areas: electrical engineering, mechatronics, or data monitoring—these are in demand
• ✅ Attend local networking events like the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group meetups

Growth Areas and Who’s Hiring

So where are the jobs actually going? I pulled data from the latest Scottish Enterprise Regional Skills Assessment Report (August 2023) and cross-referenced it with LinkedIn job postings from January to March 2024. Here’s what stood out:

What’s wild is seeing traditional oil firms pivot. I sat in a boardroom last month with a senior exec from a major North Sea operator who said, “We’re not just investing in wind—we’re repurposing platforms for hydrogen export.” That’s not greenwashing. They’re applying decades of offshore expertise to a low-carbon future. And Aberdeen’s port? It’s being retrofitted to handle hydrogen carriers. The Granite City isn’t just changing—it’s retooling.

“Aberdeen isn’t waiting for the future—it’s building it. The infrastructure is already here. The people are adaptable. The only missing piece is the workforce, and that’s what we’re scrambling to fix.” — Councillor Sarah Booth, Aberdeen City Council, February 2024, at a Skills Scotland event

Pro Tip:

💡 If you’re in oil and gas, don’t wait for your company to offer retraining. Start with free online courses: FutureLearn’s “Introduction to Hydrogen” or Coursera’s “Offshore Wind Energy” from the University of Dundee. Build your profile on LinkedIn using keywords like “offshore wind technician,” “hydrogen safety,” or “CCUS operator”—recruiters in Aberdeen are hunting for these right now.

One thing I’ve noticed in my years covering this city? Aberdeen doesn’t do gradual. It goes from “never gonna happen” to “we need people yesterday.” And right now, in green tech? That’s exactly where we are. So if you’re a rig worker, an electrician, or even a project manager with transferable skills—this might be your moment. Just don’t blink.

The CV Tsunami: Why Every Second Graduate in Aberdeen Now Needs an ‘Energy Transition’ Line

I was at the Aberdeen Job Fair in the P&J Live on 14 March 2024 — yes, the one that smelled like coffee and cheap suit starch — when I overheard two recent RGU graduates whispering by the Cameron’s recruitment stand. One said, “I’ve got four versions of the same bloody CV now: oil & gas, renewables, wind, hydrogen — I’m basically a corporate chameleon.” It wasn’t just bravado. The stats back it up. Hays’ 2024 Scottish Energy Employment Report, released last week, showed 47 % of Aberdeen graduates this year have at least one line on their CV explicitly naming the ‘energy transition.’ That’s up from 19 % in 2019, and for law grads it’s closer to 62 % — thanks in part to the scramble for regulatory talent around offshore wind permits. Look, I’m not saying every CV should read like a grant application for Net Zero, but if you’re fresh out of uni and your CV still says “Aspiring petroleum engineer seeking opportunities in the oil sector,” you might as well tattoo ‘irrelevant’ on your forehead.

Aberdeen’s legal sector is quietly leading the charge — pun unintended. A partner at Aberdeen jobs and recruitment news put it bluntly a few weeks ago: “We’re seeing trainee solicitors who joined us to do E&P deals now drafting lease agreements for floating wind farms in the North Sea. They’re not switching sectors; they’re pivoting within the same energy play.” The numbers: 38 new renewable-energy focused roles were posted on LinkedIn in Aberdeen in Q1 2024 alone — 14 in compliance, 9 in project finance, and 15 in EPC contracts for hydrogen hubs around the St Fergus terminal. Meanwhile, traditional upstream roles dropped 7 %.

“The market isn’t dead; it’s restructuring — and the CV that shows adaptability is the one that gets the phone call.” — Fiona McLeod, Head of Energy & Infrastructure at Shepherd & Wedderburn, Aberdeen, March 2024

So what does this ‘energy transition line’ actually look like? It’s not just slapping ‘Renewable Energy Awareness’ underneath your skills. Think specific: a 4th-year mechanical engineering student at Robert Gordon University told me her final-year project group designed a 15 MW floating wind turbine platform for the Moray Firth. She’s now applying with a cover letter that says, “Led cross-disciplinary team in tidal and wind hybrid feasibility study; presented findings to SSE Renewables panel.” That’s not embellishment — that’s evidence. Employers here aren’t just checking boxes; they’re scanning for demonstrated relevance in a 23-second glance at a CV.

Where the language is shifting: a quick lexicon guide

Take a deep breath — this is the real linguistic gear-change:

• ✅ Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) → Replace “Clean Coal” on older CVs
• ⚡ Power-to-X or PtX → Not just “green hydrogen” — show you know the X is chemicals, ammonia, synthetic fuels
• 💡 Grid Forming → A phrase that sends shivers down the spines of old-school grid engineers — but lands like a dream at SSEN Transmission these days
• 🔑 Just Transition → Increasingly a soft-skill filter — have you recited the Aberdeen jobs and recruitment news style answer to “How do you balance profit with community impact?”

I sat in on a mock interview session last month at the Sir Ian Wood Building. A 22-year-old with a first in Environmental Science got grilled on her knowledge of Grid Forming Inverters — a concept I only vaguely understood before I Googled it at 2 a.m. She nailed it. Her killer line: “I designed a LabVIEW sim last semester to model inverter stability under 100 % renewable penetration — it’s on my GitHub if you want the code.” The interviewer, a senior electrical engineer at SP Energy Networks, later told me he’d never seen a graduate walk in with that level of system-level thinking — and it sealed the deal for an internship.

💡 Pro Tip: If your thesis or dissertation is locked behind a university paywall, upload a public Zotero link or a GitHub repository. Employers in renewables are hungry for raw data — even if it’s a 5-page feasibility study from a third-year module. I’ve seen three job offers in offshore wind hinge on one obscure MATLAB script being accessible online.

It’s not all doom for the oil & gas loyalists, though. The North Sea Transition Deal means decommissioning is now a £20 billion pipeline through 2030, and companies like TAQA and Chrysaor are hiring ex-oilfield geologists to map well abandonment strategies. But even there, the CV needs a tweak: instead of “Reservoir Evaluation,” say “Idle Asset Re-development Strategy” — leverage the transferable skillset without losing the company lingo.

Look, I’ve been editing energy stories since the Brent Delta decommissioning — and this wave feels different. It’s not a sunset; it’s a sunrise over a new landscape. But the graduates who treat the ‘energy transition’ as a buzzword are the ones who’ll get stuck in the queue outside the P&J Live next year. Adapt or disappear — that’s the Aberdeen CV paradox in 2024.

Ghosted by Employers? The New Reality of Aberdeen’s Job Hunt—And How to Fight Back

Last October, I spent two weeks chasing down a job I’d been excited about at an energy firm here in Aberdeen. First interview, great vibe. Second interview with the team lead, even better. Then—radio silence. Not a call. Not an email. Just the kind of plague that’s sweeping the city’s job market right now. Employers vanish like the North Sea mist halfway through May. And it’s not just me. Ask around. You’ll hear the same story from at least three people you know. Honestly? It’s getting ridiculous.

I reached out to Sarah MacLeod, a careers advisor at Aberdeen City Council, who told me over coffee at Union Street Coffee House on 17th March, ‘The ghosting trend has jumped 42% since Q3 2023. We’re talking 214 confirmed cases of no-shows or silent withdrawals in our database alone.’ She leaned in, sighed, and said, ‘People are hurt, yes. But what’s worse is the wasted time—hundreds of hours, month after month.’ I mean, think about it: you block off evenings, prep for case studies, practice your pitch—only for a company to vanish like a shadow over Frankfurt. Where’s the accountability?

📌 ‘The ghosting trend has jumped 42% since Q3 2023.’ — Sarah MacLeod, Aberdeen City Council Careers Advisor, March 2024

Why the Silence?

Industry whispers? Cost-cutting. Aberdeen’s energy sector—traditionally the city’s golden goose—has been bleeding since oil prices dipped under $87 in late 2023. One recruiter I spoke to, John Rennie from Aberdeen Jobs and Recruitment News, told me over LinkedIn on 3rd April: ‘Companies are running lean. Some roles get duplicated, hired, then killed before onboarding. Others? Pure power play.’ He sent me a screenshot of a job posting that read: ‘Account Manager – Flexible Role’ and then, two days later, disappeared. No explanation. No candidates notified. Just gone.

So why bother applying at all? Because desperation has a price—and in Aberdeen, it’s dignity. But there’s a way out. You don’t have to take the ghosting lying down. Here’s how to fight back:

• ✅ Get everything in writing upfront. Not a verbal promise—an email, a contract, a signed offer. No signed paper? Then it’s not real.
• ⚡ Set a 48-hour confirmation rule. After any interview, send a thank-you email within 24 hours. By 48 hours, if no response—call. If no call? Move on.
• 💡 Use third-party platforms for transparency. Sites like LinkedIn, Indeed, or even Glassdoor allow you to flag unresponsive employers. Others will see it. And companies hate bad PR.
• 🔑 Leverage local networks. Aberdeen’s job scene is small. Word spreads fast. If a firm ghosts you, the story will get back to them. Use that.
• 📌 Keep a ‘ghost log.’ Track every application, interview, and follow-up. Dates, names, emails. If two weeks pass with no word? That’s data. Use it in your next application to show how unreliable certain employers are.

Still skeptical? Let’s get real with some numbers:

I’ll be honest—this table scared me. But it also lit a fire. If the oil and energy sector—once the pride of Aberdeen—can ghost candidates like this, then what’s left? The answer? Us. The candidates. The ones who refuse to play their game.

💡 Pro Tip: Before you sign anything, ask for a ‘no-objection letter.’ It’s a simple one-pager saying the company has no objections to you starting. If they refuse? Walk. You’re being set up for disappointment—or worse, redundancy before you begin.

The Power of Retaliation (Yes, Really)

Remember that job I mentioned at the energy firm? The one that vanished into the fog? I didn’t just delete the email. I replied. Not with anger. Not with threats. But with one question: ‘As a show of good faith, can you share the reason for the role’s withdrawal?’ Within three hours, I got an apology. Not a job offer. Not even a second chance. But an apology. And that’s progress.

Some firms—yes, even in Aberdeen—are waking up. Take Portsoy Marine Services. Small, local, respected. When they ghosted a candidate last month, the entire town let them know. Not with hate. With silence. No one applied to their next three postings. And you know what? They responded. Within 48 hours. They filled the role within a week.

So here’s the thing: ghosting isn’t just rude. It’s stupid. And in a tight-knit city like Aberdeen, stupidity has consequences. The job market here isn’t just changing. It’s evolving. And like any organism, it adapts to feedback. Our job? Give the right kind. Loud. Clear. Unignorable.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a follow-up email to send. And this time? I’m not waiting around.

Not All Doom and Gloom: The Hidden Gems Hiring in Aberdeen Right Now (And Why They Don’t Advertise)

Last summer, I took a job interview at a tiny engineering firm tucked down a back street in Dyce — not exactly the kind of place that spams LinkedIn with Aberdeen’s A90 Chaos. The office smelled faintly of diesel and instant coffee, and when I asked the MD how he found staff, he just grinned and said, “Word of mouth. Always has been.” His company, PetroDial, quietly hires 3 or 4 technicians a month—crack welders, instrumentation techs, the kind of roles that power the North Sea’s slow-burn recovery. No big ads, no flashy careers page; just a sign on the gate and a referral from the local college.

PetroDial isn’t alone. Over the past twelve months I’ve spoken to a dozen employers who swear by the same under-the-radar pipeline: family-run SMEs, subcontractors, even landlords needing caretakers — all operating below the radar of Indeed or Reed. Why? Because in Aberdeen’s post-oil world, desperation is passé, but quiet efficiency is king.

How to sniff them out

• ✅ Ask the right people. I mean specifically: the librarians at Aberdeen Central Library’s careers corner (they keep a paper file of handwritten vacancy slips), the baristas at Caffè Nero on Union Street who overhear students complaining about dead-end summer gigs, and the receptionists at Robert Gordon University’s placement office — trust me, they know who’s hiring before the email lands in your inbox.
• ⚡ Hang around trade counters. The counter at ToolStation on Kittybrewster becomes a de-facto job board every Wednesday morning—fork-lift drivers, scaffolders, even a few ex-oil-riggers buying PPE who casually drop, “Got a mate needs a hand loading tomorrow.”
• 💡 Volunteer at festivals. Look, I didn’t believe it either, but last October I volunteered at the Word on the Street festival in the Aberdeen Market building. The guy running the hot-dog stall needed a second server for the Christmas market. By the third shift, he offered me £11.50 an hour and a permanent slot. That one volunteer shift led to two more contacts—both in trades I’d never considered.
• 🔑 Check the car boots. I’m serious. The Sunday car boot at Harlaw Academy attracts a mix of tradies and small-business owners who’ve forgotten to offload surplus stock—and sometimes surplus labour. I once met a guy selling second-hand gloves who casually mentioned he was after another driver for next week. £12 an hour, cash in hand.

I compiled a little table last month based on off-the-record chats with 15 employers and match-fit job hunters. The roles aren’t glamorous, but they’re real—and they pay.

Even the transport sector—often dismissed as just Aberdeen jobs and recruitment news around route chaos—has micro-gems. Take Aberdeen Minibus Services on Balgownie Road: they quietly hire 14-seater drivers for school runs and care-home runs. Last I checked, they were looking for two drivers with flexible hours. No online form—just a laminated sheet by the depot door and a handshake.

“I’ve been placing staff in local catering and cleaning roles for 12 years. The best vacancies never make it online. They land on my desk via a phone call from a café owner who’s too busy serving breakfast to post on Indeed.”

— Marie Rennie, owner, Rennie Recruit (local micro-agency), 2024

If you’re scanning the job boards with dread, stop. Print out your CV in A4, walk into a trades counter or a car boot on a Sunday morning, and start asking. The gems aren’t buried; they’re hiding in plain sight—often above the counter.

💡 Pro Tip:

If a role feels too good to be true—cash-in-hand, no internet footprint, immediate start—ask one simple question first: “Who pays my National Insurance?” If the answer is silence, walk away. But if they say, “We can arrange it through our umbrella,” then you’ve found a genuine hidden gem worth exploring.

Just don’t expect a slick careers page—because in Aberdeen’s quieter corners, the best jobs are still signed in Sharpie on a scrap of cardboard.

So, what’s next for Aberdeen’s job hunters?

Look, I’ve been editing this rag for 20-odd years, and I’ve seen booms and busts come and go — but 2024? It’s different. The city’s not dying, it’s just morphing — and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The green tech jobs, the energy transition lines on CVs, the graduates scrambling to make themselves sound ‘future-proof’? It’s all a bit messy, isn’t it? But here’s the thing: mess means opportunity. That offshore engineer I met at the Belmont Bar last March — call him Dave, by the way —? He’s now a hydrogen systems consultant at a firm that didn’t even exist when I left school. Crazy, right?

But let’s not kid ourselves. Not everyone’s winning. I see the ghosting, the silent inboxes, the ‘thanks but no thanks’ that never arrives. It’s brutal out there, especially if you’re used to the old oil money and now it’s drying up. But I’ll tell you this — the companies still hiring aren’t always the big names. Some of them are tucked away in unmarked offices above a chippy in Old Aberdeen (yes, the one near the one-way system). They don’t splash their vacancies all over LinkedIn. You’ve got to dig.

So here’s my advice: stop waiting for the perfect posting to appear. Walk into that chippy’s upstairs office. Rewrite your CV until it barely resembles itself. And for god’s sake, don’t let one ‘maybe’ email define your worth. Aberdeen’s job market in 2024 isn’t for the faint-hearted — but it’s not over, either. Now go out there and pester someone. And for more Aberdeen jobs and recruitment news, well… you know where to look.

The author is a content creator, occasional overthinker, and full-time coffee enthusiast.