The UK oil&gas industry has been in the political spotlight lately, with several of our sector’s achievements receiving the commendation of Scottish and UK politicians alike.
The industry last month celebrated the milestone intake of the 1,000th Modern Apprentice to its hugely successful technician training scheme, marking the 10th anniversary of the industry’s efforts to provide a grassroots solution to the need for a competent, stable and flexible workforce both now and in the future.
Managed by OPITO – The Oil & Gas Academy and run in partnership with Oil & Gas UK, the Offshore Contractors Association and the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board, the scheme is an excellent example of the industry’s commitment to maintaining the pipeline of skills long-term.
The challenges of oil&gas will continue to change as the industry evolves, but this landmark achievement is testament to the North Sea sector’s determination to remain a centre of excellence for global skills and competency and one which we should be rightly proud of.
This landmark achievement was noted in the Scottish Parliament by John Park MSP, who commended the industry for its efforts and investment of £73million in the training scheme since its inception in 1999.
Modern Apprentices were also the focus for the Chancellor during his visit to the Scottish north-east in October.
Alistair Darling met several of our young trainees at PSN in Aberdeen when he made a whistle-stop tour of the city and was impressed not only by their enthusiasm and knowledge of the industry, but by the wide-ranging support the apprentices and the scheme has from oil&gas operators.
Meanwhile, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Fiona Hyslop was at Forth Valley College, in Falkirk, to launch OPITO’s new technician transformation training course.
The 12-week programme offers a fast-track avenue for skilled workers with an established knowledge base and experience of other industries to switch to the oil&gas industry, where there is a long-term need for core crew technicians.
Four courses in total have been developed, covering the key disciplines of electrical, instrumentation, process and mechanical. Each includes the Minimum Industry Safety Training (MIST) and Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (BOSIET), as well as electrical safety awareness and Petroleum Open Learning units.
On successful completion, each learner will be presented with an OPITO certificate accepted by all employers in the North Sea oil&gas industry, and their qualifications will be loaded on to the Vantage database.
Our industry isn’t always quick to shout about good news – perhaps we have been burned once too often in the past to leap in enthusiastically with both feet now. What each of these examples shows is that not only do we have a lot to shout about, but that Government is sitting up and taking notice.
It is good to see the powers that be acknowledging the impact the oil&gas industry has had on shaping the UK economic landscape of the past 40 years and, more importantly, highlighting the tremendous efforts which are being undertaken to ensure it continues to do so long into the future.
David Doig is CEO of OPITO – The Oil & Gas Academy
