Companies enter the offshore market by identifying which sector they want to operate in, building or hiring the right certified workforce, and setting up compliant employment and payroll structures for international operations. The offshore market covers several industries, each with its own rules, qualifications, and workforce demands. This article walks through the most important questions companies face when making that move.
What does the offshore market actually include?
The offshore market refers to all commercial and industrial activity that takes place at sea or on marine structures away from the coast. This includes oil and gas extraction, offshore wind energy, subsea cable installation, dredging, and maritime transport. Each of these sectors operates under its own regulatory framework and requires a specific mix of technical expertise and certified personnel.
In practice, the offshore market is not one single industry but a collection of technically demanding sectors that share a common environment: open water, remote locations, and high safety standards. Companies entering this space need to understand which segment they are targeting, because the workforce requirements, vessel types, and compliance obligations differ significantly between, for example, an offshore wind installation project and a deepwater oil platform.
The sectors that make up the broader offshore market include:
- Oil and gas: exploration, drilling, production, and decommissioning
- Offshore wind: installation, commissioning, and maintenance of turbines and foundations
- Dredging and marine civil works: port construction, land reclamation, and pipeline trenching
- Subsea and cable laying: power interconnectors and telecommunications infrastructure
- Maritime transport and crewing: vessels supporting all of the above
What are the main barriers to entering the offshore market?
The main barriers to entering the offshore market are access to certified personnel, regulatory compliance across multiple jurisdictions, and the capital and lead time required to mobilize a qualified workforce at short notice. Projects run on fixed start dates, and delays cost money immediately.
Beyond logistics, the offshore environment is safety-critical by definition. Regulators, clients, and insurers all require that personnel hold valid certifications before stepping foot on an installation. Companies that underestimate this requirement quickly find themselves unable to mobilize on time.
Other common barriers include:
- Visa and work permit complexity: offshore projects often span multiple flag states and coastal jurisdictions
- Short-notice staffing demands: projects can accelerate, or crew can drop out unexpectedly
- Local content requirements: some regions require a minimum percentage of local hires
- Unfamiliarity with local labor law: employment terms, tax obligations, and social security contributions vary by country
How do companies typically structure their offshore workforce?
Companies in the offshore market typically structure their workforce in one of three ways: direct employment, secondment through a specialist agency, or full project crewing where a third party manages the entire workforce on behalf of the client. The right model depends on the size, duration, and complexity of the project.
Smaller operators or companies doing their first offshore project often use secondment or agency crewing to avoid the administrative burden of international employment. Larger operators with recurring projects may maintain a core permanent team and supplement it with flexible contract workers for peak demand.
A practical overview of the main workforce models:
- Direct employment: the company hires and employs crew directly, taking on full HR and compliance responsibility
- Secondment: specialists are placed by an agency but work under the client’s direction
- Full project crewing: an agency staffs and manages the entire crew from mobilization to demobilization
- Payroll solutions: workers are employed by a third party but work exclusively for the client, reducing legal and administrative risk
For companies working across multiple technical industries, mixing these models depending on project type is common and often the most cost-effective approach.
What certifications and compliance standards are required offshore?
Offshore workers are required to hold a combination of internationally recognized safety certifications and role-specific technical qualifications. The exact requirements depend on the sector, the flag state of the vessel or installation, and the geographic location of the project.
For maritime and offshore oil and gas roles, the STCW (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping) convention sets the baseline. Workers on offshore installations typically also need BOSIET or HUET (helicopter underwater escape training), OPITO-approved safety training, and medical fitness certificates such as the ENG1 or equivalent.
In the renewables sector, GWO (Global Wind Organisation) training has become the standard for wind technicians working at height and in confined spaces. Dredging and civil marine projects often require VCA or equivalent safety passports, particularly in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Screening candidates against these requirements before mobilization is not optional. It is a condition of entry. Every candidate we place goes through a structured qualification check against the QHSE requirements of the specific project and client.
How do companies handle cross-border payroll in offshore projects?
Cross-border payroll in offshore projects requires companies to manage employment contracts, tax obligations, social security contributions, and compliance documentation across multiple countries simultaneously. The most common solution is to use a payroll partner who employs workers locally or internationally on behalf of the client.
The complexity increases when workers are nationals of one country, employed under the law of another, and working on a vessel flagged in a third. In the EU, A1 certificates are used to confirm which country’s social security legislation applies to a mobile worker, preventing double contributions and legal disputes.
Key elements of a well-structured offshore payroll solution include:
- Correct employment contracts that reflect local labor law
- A1 certificates or equivalent documentation for cross-border workers within the EU
- Transparent invoicing and open-book administration so clients can verify costs
- Flexibility to accommodate different contract types: rotational, project-based, or long-term
We place candidates on our own payroll for international assignments, handling full compliance including A1 certificates and local tax obligations. This removes the legal and administrative risk from the client entirely, which is especially valuable for offshore project roles where workforce composition changes frequently.
When should a company use a staffing partner to enter the offshore market?
A company should use a staffing partner to enter the offshore market when it lacks an existing network of certified offshore professionals, needs to mobilize quickly, or is operating in a country or region where it has no local HR infrastructure. The offshore market moves fast, and building a qualified candidate pool from scratch takes time that most projects simply do not have.
Staffing partners are also useful when the workforce requirement is temporary or project-specific. Hiring permanent staff for a 12-month installation project creates long-term employment obligations that do not match the project’s lifecycle. A staffing partner can supply qualified crew for exactly the duration needed, with all employment and compliance managed externally.
Specific situations where a staffing partner adds the most value:
- First entry into a new geographic market with unfamiliar labor regulations
- Short-notice mobilization where there is no time to run a full recruitment process
- Projects requiring a mix of nationalities with different visa and certification requirements
- Ongoing projects where crew rotation means constant replacement hiring
How iPS Powerful People helps companies enter the offshore market
We have been placing professionals in offshore and maritime roles since 1988. That means over 35 years of experience in exactly the situations described above, from short-notice crewing for a single vessel to full workforce management for multi-year offshore wind projects. Our database holds more than 100,000 qualified professionals, and we have offices and representatives in the Netherlands, the Baltic States, Croatia, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Dubai, and the US, giving us direct access to local labor markets and regulatory knowledge in each region.
Here is what we offer companies entering or expanding in the offshore market:
- Crewing and secondment: qualified offshore professionals for vessels and installations across maritime, renewables, oil and gas, and civil projects
- Full project staffing: we take on the complete workforce for a project, from survey through to installation and demobilization
- Cross-border payroll: candidates on our payroll with full compliance, A1 certificates, and open-book administration, so you carry no legal risk
- Permanent recruitment: for companies building a longer-term offshore team
- 24/7 responsiveness: offshore does not stop at 5pm, and neither do we
We are also B Corp certified, which means our business practices meet verified standards for social and environmental performance. That matters when you are choosing a workforce partner for safety-critical projects where the people really count.
Want to know more about how we work? Learn about our approach or get in touch with our team to discuss your offshore staffing needs directly.