For those seeking jobs offshore, opportunities continue to grow, even with the economic slowdown. Half of the current workforce in the oil and gas industry is retiring in the next 10 years. This is creating a huge labor shortage for the energy companies and drilling contractors, and a huge opportunity for those seeking jobs offshore and on land. There has never been a better time for either experienced or entry-level workers to find jobs offshore.

This growing workforce shortage is creating a groundswell of opportunity for catering personnel who would like to find an offshore catering job. Jobs offshore in catering in 2009 – 2010 is expected to accelerate as the economy begins turning around. While all job categories are experiencing vacancies and shortages, the opportunities are particularly good for offshore cooking jobs and other catering personnel.

There are many openings for a variety of jobs offshore in catering positions, including Chefs, cooks, assistant cooks, night bakers, galley hands, stewards and stewardesses, housekeeping and cleaning staff. Offshore catering is typically contracted out and managed by catering and food service companies. The catering contractor is responsible for all food service, to include meals, snacks, and special Holiday requirements. Additionally, the offshore catering service manages the cleaning and upkeep of the kitchen and chow hall, as well as the recreational and common areas and sleeping quarters. The following jobs are in high demand and available now.

Offshore Catering Jobs, Duties and Wages

Camp Boss
The Camp Boss is responsible for running the catering department. He oversees the chefs, cooks, night bakers, stewards, and housekeepers. The rig crew work long, hard hours, and an important part of running the operation is ensuring they have adequate energy and good morale. Ensuring that the kitchen puts out great tasting and nutritious food is what the Camp Boss does every day. He is assisted in this responsibility with a small crew of Chefs, Cooks, Night Bakers, Galley Hands and Stewards Stewardesses. Four to Six main courses are prepared and served every 24 hours, split into 12 hour shifts, so that both shifts get good meals. The Camp Boss also manages the Stewards and Stewardesses, ensuring that the rig’s recreation areas, downtime areas and, living quarters are kept clean, and the laundry completed.

Chef Head Cook
For the Chef or Lead Cook position, while previous offshore experience isn’t a requirement, previous cooking experience is. The quality of offshore food preparation is often comparable to the fare one would receive in the nicer Hotels and Restaurants; the food is good, nutritious, and there is lots of it. The Chef plays an important role in keeping morale high among the drilling crews; looking forward to a good meal goes a long way in maintaining job satisfaction. Experience managing a kitchen is a must. This is not an entry-level cooking position, one is expected to have a proven record of preparing quality food. However, those with less experience will be considered for the Galley Hand or Night Cook. Salaries run from the mid 60s – 70s, depending on the rig, the catering service company one is working for, and experience.

Night Baker
This is a very important position on the rig. All bread onboard is baked by the night baker, as well as pastries, muffins and desserts. On smaller rigs, this may be rolled up with the Assistant Cook Sous Chef as one job; on larger rigs, the positions will be two separate jobs. Offshore Night Baker wages will run from the 50s to 60s.

Night Cook
Most people with experience seeking an offshore cooking job will start here. The Night Cook will work the night shift. This is a great position in which to obtain one’s first offshore job. The Assistant Cook will prepare meals according to the recipes and directions of the Chef or Lead Cook. If you do a good job, and prove capable of running the kitchen in the Chef’s absence, you can move into a Lead Cook or Chef’s position fairly quickly. Offshore Assistant Cook wages will range from the mid 50s to mid 60s.

Galley Hand
If you have worked as a dishwasher or busboy in a Hotel or Restaurant for any decent amount of time, you can qualify of an Offshore Galley Hand job. This is a great way to get a foot in the door for those wishing to progress up to Chef or Head Cook – as on the mainland, many Offshore Chefs have gotten their start in the industry by starting at the bottom and working their way up. Offshore Galley Hand wages salary will range from the mid 40s to mid 50s.

Cleaning Housekeeping Staff
Generally speaking, anyone with mainland experience in a janitorial or housekeeping position, especially in industrial facilities or hotels, can qualify for jobs offshore in the same capacity. It is not uncommon for people wanting to break into the industry to accept a cleaning or housekeeping job, get to know people, and then, when the opportunity arises, advancing into a position of greater responsibility. This could be a supply room job, a roustabout job, or moving up the ladder to become a maintenance supervisor. It is quite common for people to start in this sort of position and then make a career in the offshore oil industry, moving in whatever direction they choose. A great way to get the proverbial foot in the door. Offshore Janitorial and Cleaning Housekeeping wages salary will range from the mid 40s to mid 50s.

Steward
The Steward Stewardess position is essentially a combination of Galley Hand and Janitorial Housekeeping responsibilities. On small rigs, these jobs may be rolled into one, and that would be the role of Steward. Offshore Steward wages will range from the mid 40s to mid 50s.

Getting Hired for Jobs Offshore in the Catering Section
For those without industry experience, it has been proven that the fastest way to get hired is to utilize one of the legitimate employment services for jobs offshore. Be sure to work only with honest, legitimate companies that will assist you with getting your resume written correctly for an offshore catering job.They should have references of people who have landed jobs offshore with them. A legitimate recruiter or job finding service will make no guarantees of getting hired, but should guarantee your satisfaction with their services, with a refund if no job is procured.