Hello everyone! I've applied for a position in a company based in Scotland in need for a bilingual HSE trainer in the O&G industry. The position requires frequent travelling (50%+) required to client's locations in several portuguese speaking countries all over the world (Brazil and Angola mainly) to provide training. They liked my CV and I've been asked for salary expectations and quite honestly I don't know the UK market, as I live in Portugal. I'm a B.Eng with an Occupational Safety Post-graduation and recently joined IOSH as Grad with 6 years experience in construction safety as CDM-C and Safety Advisor and more recently 2 years as assistant Safety Coordinator in a oil refinery. I am proficient in OHSAS 18001, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, BS 8800, API, OSHA, ATEX and NFPA standards and CDM and Machines Directive. Can I have some opinions, please? Thank you NSC

Thanks Steve I'm really depressed now :0( Sorry I'm unable to help you NSC80, but looking at the above document and area you are in you should be able to get a reasonable remuneration. Good luck with the job. Chris

Thank you all for your contribution! I was already aware of the survey Steve W mentioned, but I tend to agree with Chris42. One thing statistics back at university taught me was that they are good to understand trends, but very poor in specific cases. I guess that's the point of them. Regarding the salary, 80k+benefits pa sounds great, but I'm not an experienced offshore trainer and probably is a bit bold to ask. I consider myself as an experienced trainer with +1500 hours training given in Permit to Work; Energy Isolation; Confined Space Entry; Working at heights; Lifting Operations; Explosive atmosphere but all onshore. They didn't ask for offshore experience and will provide for Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training course (BOSIET). As far as I can see, offshore experience adds thousands of pounds to the salary and they probably want an experienced HSE professional without offshore experience to pay less and build experience working for them. The HR officer said that some short offshore training might be expected, but the majority of the role will be onshore.

You can ask what you want - but what you might get is possibly going to be very different? I guess you are frightened of pricing yourself out of the job? Look at what you need to live on, look at what 'extras' you would like and then add a bit more on? Look at what the tax/expenses implications are if you are abroad - do you just get your salary or is there a 'disturbance' allowance etc etc. Have a look on job agency websites see if there is anything similar to what you are being considered for - you sound as if you have a fairly unique skill set which is a great bargaining tool. Have you asked them what range they were thinking of paying? Good luck

Thank you all once again for your contribution! All travelling expenses and accommodation are provided by the training company. They also provide a laptop, cellphone, international mobile internet and insurance. The client companies provides office space and room if needed for the training, since most of them will be onsite. They will also provide escort and transportation within the international locations. One thing that is troubling me is that as far as I know from some friends working in Brazil and mostly Angola is that unexpected expenses are bound to happen. An expat (obvious pick) is likely to be approached several times a day by let's say "law enforcement" to pay strange fees and fines if you know what I mean. These expenses most be covered by the company with an allowance or if I pay them, I have to get a refund when returning to Scotland. Regarding the time spent in the company's office in Scotland, I've been informed that it will be to prepare the training (presentations, leaflets, manuals, tests, etc), analyse client's KPIs regarding safety to pick the training strategy and priorities and produce reports. Some clients will also need advice regarding their HSE internal systems. I think I'm going to ask for a mid experienced O&G salary in Scotland + bilingual skills increase + extensive travelling increase + reallocating to Scotland. Let's see what happens. It comes a time one has to weigh in all factors and be able to walk away from a job offer if one doesn't feel compensated. Cheers!

Rates, for whatever job - are suppressed in the oil & gas sector at the moment. Its ok getting cheap petrol at your local garage, but its strangling the oil & gas job market.