More than 100 pupils from Aberdeen City and Shire have had their first hands-on experience of the oil and gas industry thanks to a new Opito initiative.
The weekly work placement programme will provide S5 pupils with an overlook of how exploration and production operators find, extract and process hydrocarbons by visiting facilities of major operators, including Aker Solutions, Nexen, BP, Total and Transocean.
The pupils will also participate in a supply chain simulation exercise with the Oil and Gas Academy for Scotland, as well as a series of workshops with the University of Aberdeen, exploHUB, Robert Gordon University Energy Centre and the Urquhart Partnership to learn key professional skills such as CV writing and interview techniques to prepare them for starting on their career paths.
The programme, funded and managed by Opito, started with a “subsea day” at the Aker Dyce facility on Tuesday and will conclude with a graduation ceremony at the end of the week.
“This is like no other work placement programme in the industry and there has been an unparalleled level of co-operation between all the partner organisations to ensure it provides an informative and relevant overview to young people thinking about their options,” said Morven Spalding, skills director at Opito.
“It not only gives pupils a great insight into the size and scale of the sector, it allows them to connect with leading professionals and see first-hand the diverse range of careers oil and gas offers and the skills needed to achieve them.
“The foundation of knowledge the students will take away from this week will set them on the right path for success in the future.”
