Offshore Electrician Jobs UK: Pay, Tickets and How to Get Hired
9 min read · Updated October 2026
Offshore electricians in the UK earn about £400 to £540 a day in 2026 on a two weeks on, two weeks off FIFO rotation, with travel, food and accommodation paid. To get hired you need a time-served electrical qualification, 18th Edition, CompEx Ex01-Ex04, an OEUK medical, BOSIET with CA-EBS and MIST. HV experience lifts you to the top of the band.
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What an offshore electrician actually does
Offshore electricians keep power generation, distribution and safety systems running on platforms, drilling rigs, FPSOs and offshore wind farms. A typical trip mixes planned maintenance, fault finding on motors, switchgear and lighting, permit-to-work tasks and inspection of Ex equipment in hazardous areas.
The work is closer to heavy industrial than domestic. If your background is petrochemical, power stations, marine or large plant maintenance, you are already most of the way there.
Offshore electrician pay in 2026
| Role | Day rate | Annual (2/2) |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical technician (oil and gas) | £400 to £540 | £72k to £96k |
| Electrical technician (offshore wind) | £300 to £450 | £42k to £75k |
| Instrument / E&I technician | £420 to £560 | £75k to £100k |
| Electrical supervisor / HV AP | £520 to £650 | £95k to £118k |
These are typical 2026 ranges, not guarantees. Full monthly take-home and what moves you up each band are in the offshore electrical technician salary guide and the wind turbine technician salary page.
Tickets and qualifications you need
- Time-served electrical qualification — NVQ Level 3 / apprenticeship, ECS or equivalent
- 18th Edition (BS 7671) — expected as standard
- CompEx Ex01-Ex04 — hazardous area competence, essential for oil and gas
- OEUK offshore medical, BOSIET with CA-EBS and MIST
- GWO BST — for offshore wind instead of BOSIET
- HV training / Authorised Person — not required to start, but the biggest pay lever
Costs and renewal periods for each are in our offshore certifications guide and the BOSIET training guide.
Moving from onshore to offshore
The most common route is onshore industrial electrician, then CompEx, then the offshore survival tickets, then applying through contractors and agencies. Some people take an onshore role at a terminal or yard first to get hazardous area experience on the CV.
Do the medical first: if you fail it, every other ticket is wasted money. Then CompEx, because it is the ticket recruiters search on. If you have no offshore time at all, our offshore jobs with no experience guide covers the first-trip problem.
Who hires offshore electricians
- Service and maintenance contractors: Wood, Petrofac, Bilfinger, Stork, Altrad, Sparrows
- Drilling contractors: Valaris, Transocean, KCA Deutag, Noble, Stena Drilling
- Operators: Harbour Energy, TotalEnergies, BP, Shell, Ithaca, Equinor
- Offshore wind: Ørsted, SSE Renewables, RWE, Siemens Gamesa, Vestas
- Agencies: NES Fircroft, Orion Group, Airswift, Petroplan, Cammach Bryant
You can also see live vacancies from our partner recruiters on the live jobs page.
FIFO rotations for electricians
Nearly all UK offshore electrical work is fly-in fly-out. On North Sea oil and gas expect two weeks on, two weeks off, 12-hour shifts, every day of the trip. Offshore wind often runs 14/14 or 21/21 from a service vessel. The full rotation breakdown is in our FIFO offshore jobs guide.
What your CV must show
Recruiters and their ATS search on tickets first. Put a ticket block near the top of page one with CompEx units, 18th Edition, HV level and offshore tickets, each with its expiry date. Then show voltage levels you have worked on, equipment types (switchgear, VSDs, generators, UPS), hazardous area work and the sites or vessels you worked on.
A good onshore electrician with "maintained electrical systems" on page two will lose to a weaker candidate whose CV says "CompEx Ex01-04, 11kV switching, Zone 1 inspection" on page one. Our offshore CV writing service builds the CV around exactly that, or test what you have first with the free ATS CV checker.
Offshore electrician questions
How much do offshore electricians earn in the UK?
Offshore electrical technicians in the UK earn around £400 to £540 a day in 2026, roughly £72,000 to £96,000 a year on a 2-on-2-off rotation. HV Authorised Person status and hazardous area (CompEx) competence push you to the top of the band.
What qualifications do you need to be an offshore electrician?
A recognised electrical apprenticeship (NVQ Level 3 or equivalent), 18th Edition, CompEx Ex01-Ex04 for hazardous areas, plus the standard offshore tickets: OEUK medical, BOSIET with CA-EBS and MIST. Offshore wind needs GWO BST instead of BOSIET.
Can an onshore electrician get a job offshore?
Yes. Most offshore electricians started onshore, often in industrial, petrochemical or marine work. The gap is usually CompEx and the offshore survival tickets, plus a CV that shows hazardous area and industrial experience clearly.
Do you need CompEx to work offshore as an electrician?
For oil and gas installations, almost always. Platforms are classified hazardous areas, so operators and contractors expect CompEx Ex01-Ex04 before they will put you forward. Offshore wind roles ask for it less often but HV experience matters more.
What rotation do offshore electricians work?
Usually two weeks on, two weeks off on North Sea oil and gas, working 12-hour shifts. Production platforms may run 3-on-3-off and offshore wind commonly runs 14/14 or 21/21 from vessels. Travel, food and accommodation are paid.
Are there FIFO electrician jobs in the UK?
Yes. Nearly all UK offshore electrical work is fly-in fly-out: you live anywhere, the employer pays travel from the heliport or port, and you are paid for every day of the rotation including travel days.
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