A combined maritime and offshore oil and gas training centre is reaping the benefits of its central belt location, with workers coming from far and wide to use its facilities.
Clyde Training Solutions (CTS) opened on the banks of the River Clyde in Glasgow in 2016 and since has since become the 200th centre to be approved by safety standards organisation OPITO.
The location may seem odd for a centre proclaiming to service the offshore industry, given its distance from Aberdeen.
But director Colin McMurray and general manager Gareth Mathias said there was logic behind the decision to set up in Glasgow.
Mr McMurray said: “The perceived wisdom for many years has been that to act as an effective supplier to the offshore industry you had to be based in Aberdeen.
“But we could see there were thousands of offshore workers who lived in the central belt and would welcome training being closer to home.”
CTS has a wealth of experience in maritime safety training.
Its sister company, Clyde Marine Training (CMT), is the UK’s largest maritime training provider, accounting for about 50% of the annual intake of merchant navy cadet officers.
Since 2006, CMT has provided STCW training for its own cadets and other shipping companies.
The organisation’s growth over the following decade encouraged it to look into the possibility of building a bespoke training centre in Glasgow which caters for more than just the maritime sector.
McMurray now looks after both businesses at the various locations.
Commenting on the establishment of the combined maritime and offshore centre, the first of its kind in Scotland when it opened in 2016, Mr Mathias said: “In many ways it was a logical step to create a centre that catered for both sectors, the only surprise for someone like myself, who has worked both sectors and lives in the west of Scotland, is that it took so long.”
“But it’s not just about Glasgow and surrounding areas, the location in Clydebank allows easy access by planes, trains and automobiles with space for more than 100 cars on site.
“In fact, since we opened our doors in late 2016, we have welcomed delegates from over 25 countries worldwide including Australia, and we put that down to our excellent transport links, but also our customer service team, who make it very easy for delegates by booking accommodation when required.”
The importance of accessibility and working to build relationships throughout the sector is something that Mr McMurray is keen to stress.
He said: “We don’t see ourselves as direct competitors to Petrofac, Survivex and Maersk, in fact we see ourselves as organisations which can help one another. Part of their remit as training management providers is to ensure best value for their clients, and a logical extension of this is for central belt based personnel to receive training close to home, thereby reducing travel and accommodation costs.
“We have already established close working relationships with major training providers in the north of Scotland, which we hope to replicate across the board with other training providers.”
And they haven’t stopped at maritime and oil and gas. CTS will announce the provision of renewables training courses in the first quarter of 2018, adding another string to its bow.
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