Offshore companies plan major projects by working through a series of structured phases: feasibility and engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation, and commissioning. Planning typically starts one to three years before the project execution date, with workforce planning beginning at least six to twelve months in advance. This article covers the most common questions about how offshore project planning works in practice, from staffing timelines to payroll compliance.
What are the main phases of an offshore project plan?
An offshore project typically moves through five main phases: feasibility and concept design, front-end engineering and design (FEED), procurement and fabrication, offshore installation and execution, and commissioning and handover. Each phase has its own deliverables, timelines, and staffing requirements, and delays in one phase almost always affect the next.
During the feasibility phase, the project team assesses technical and commercial viability. FEED translates that concept into detailed engineering plans. Procurement and fabrication run in parallel, covering equipment orders, vessel charters, and contractor selection. The installation phase is where the bulk of offshore personnel are deployed. Commissioning wraps up the work and verifies that systems are operational before handover to the operations team.
For large-scale projects in oil and gas, wind farm construction, or dredging, these phases can overlap significantly. A project manager overseeing a floating production unit, for example, may be managing procurement on one front while mobilizing an installation crew on another. That overlap is exactly why workforce planning needs to start early and stay flexible throughout.
How far in advance do offshore companies start workforce planning?
Most offshore companies begin workforce planning six to twelve months before mobilization, and for large or complex projects, planning can start up to two years in advance. The earlier the planning starts, the more options you have for sourcing the right people at the right rates.
The main driver for early planning is availability. Experienced offshore personnel, particularly those with specialist certifications like dynamic positioning (DP) operators, subsea engineers, or marine warranty surveyors, are in high demand. If you wait until a few weeks before your project start date, you are competing with every other operator who had the same idea.
Visa and work permit timelines are another reason to plan ahead. For projects in regions like the Gulf of Mexico, Southeast Asia, or the Middle East, obtaining the right permits for international crew can take weeks or even months. Building that lead time into your project schedule is not optional, it is practical.
What roles and certifications are required for offshore projects?
The roles required for an offshore project depend on the type of work, but most projects need a combination of marine crew, technical specialists, and project management personnel. Certifications vary by role and region, but safety and compliance requirements are non-negotiable across the board.
Common roles on offshore projects include offshore installation managers (OIMs), subsea engineers, ROV pilots, dynamic positioning officers, riggers, crane operators, marine engineers, and safety officers. For renewables projects, you also see wind turbine technicians, cable installation specialists, and survey crew.
Standard certifications across most offshore roles include BOSIET or HUET (helicopter underwater escape training), STCW (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for maritime personnel), and GWO (Global Wind Organisation) modules for renewables. Many roles also require client-specific or region-specific safety training. Every candidate we place goes through a screening process that checks QHSE requirements and verifies that all certifications are current and valid for the specific project location.
How do offshore companies manage international payroll and compliance?
Managing payroll for offshore workers across multiple countries involves navigating different tax regimes, social security systems, employment laws, and collective labour agreements. Most offshore companies either build an in-house compliance team or partner with a specialist payroll provider to handle this complexity.
Key compliance considerations include:
- A1 certificates for EU workers to confirm social security coverage in their home country
- Local employment contracts that meet the legal requirements of the country where work is performed
- Tax withholding obligations, which vary depending on where the worker is resident and where the work is done
- MLC 2006 compliance for seafarers, covering wages, hours of work, and repatriation rights
For companies running projects across multiple jurisdictions simultaneously, managing this in-house is genuinely complex. A payroll partner who takes workers onto their own payroll, handles A1 certificates, and maintains full compliance with local labour law removes that risk entirely. We offer exactly that, with open-book administration so clients always know what they are paying and why.
What is the difference between crewing, secondment, and recruitment in offshore projects?
These three terms are often used interchangeably, but they describe different working arrangements. Crewing refers to placing operational personnel on vessels or offshore installations, typically on a rotational basis. Secondment means placing a professional within a client organisation for a defined period, where the worker operates under the client’s direction but remains employed by the staffing agency. Recruitment is the process of finding and placing a candidate in a permanent or fixed-term role directly with the client.
In practice, offshore projects often use all three. You might recruit a permanent project director, second a planning engineer for the duration of the project, and use crewing services to staff the vessels involved in installation. Knowing which arrangement fits each role helps you manage costs, compliance obligations, and flexibility more effectively.
A useful comparison:
| Arrangement | Employer of record | Typical duration | Best suited for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crewing | Staffing agency | Rotational / project-based | Vessel and installation operations |
| Secondment | Staffing agency | Fixed project period | Specialist roles within a client team |
| Recruitment | Client company | Permanent or fixed-term | Long-term or senior hires |
How do offshore companies find qualified crew on short notice?
Finding qualified offshore crew quickly comes down to having access to a pre-vetted talent pool and a network of contacts who are ready to mobilize. Companies with strong relationships in the offshore market, or those working with an experienced staffing partner, are far better positioned to fill urgent roles than those starting from scratch.
When a project needs crew at short notice, the fastest route is through a staffing agency with a live database of available, certified professionals. Generic job boards are slow and attract unqualified applicants. Direct outreach to known contacts works for some roles but does not scale. A specialist agency with over 100,000 professionals in its database and active presence across offshore industries can match roles to candidates within days rather than weeks.
Geography also matters. If you need crew for a project in the Baltic Sea, having a staffing partner with offices in Lithuania or Croatia means access to local talent who already hold the right certifications and understand regional working conditions. For projects in the Middle East or the Americas, local representation in Dubai or Mexico makes a real difference in mobilization speed. You can browse available offshore positions to get a sense of the kinds of roles and regions we work with regularly.
How iPS Powerful People helps with offshore project staffing
We have been staffing offshore projects since 1988, which means we have seen how projects succeed and where they run into trouble. Our services cover the full range of what offshore companies need:
- Crewing for vessels and offshore installations across maritime, renewables, and oil and gas
- Full project staffing, from survey phase through to commissioning, with adaptive resource management throughout
- Secondment and recruitment for specialist and permanent roles at every level
- International payroll with candidates on our own payroll, full A1 certificate handling, and compliance with local labour law in every country we operate
- Local knowledge through offices in the Netherlands, the Baltic States, Croatia, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Dubai, and the US
Whether you need one specialist tomorrow or a full crew for a six-month installation project, we can help you move fast without cutting corners on compliance or quality. Learn more about who we are or get in touch directly to discuss your project requirements.