A DOZEN S3 pupils from Hazlehead Academy, Aberdeen, have just been given a realistic taste of the energy industry’s oil&gas coal face.
The experience came thanks to a course jointly developed by international engineering and project management company Amec and ASET (Aberdeen Skills and Enterprise Training), which is an offshoot of Aberdeen College.
This five-week programme is the latest example of co-operation between Hazlehead Academy and Amec and, for youngsters captivated by the experience, it may pave the way to a future career in energy, whether oil&gas or otherwise.
It certainly seemed to fire up one of the Hazlehead pupils, with Alison Scott saying: “It was a great experience and I was thrilled to be part of the scheme. I would certainly do it all over again if I could as I found it so interesting, and it has really given me ideas for my future career.”
The course was designed with a heavy accent on safety and to provide insight and practical experience in the areas of instrumentation, mechanical, electrical and process engineering.
It was developed to engage the pupils in a practical and fun way while providing opportunities to take engineering from the textbook and convert the theory into working practice.
The S3 pupils also undertook mini projects where they were presented with challenges and tasked with identifying technical solutions. There were prizes for the most practical and most “off-the-wall” examples.
Amec’s John Pearson, MD of the group’s natural resources division, is clear about the need to captivate the upcoming school generation and keep the partnership with Hazlehead fresh and relevant.
“The challenge we face with our school partnership is to reach as many pupils as possible and offer meaningful opportunities for those involved.
“Many offshore and onshore oil&gas-related positions require the core skills of safety, instrumentation, mechanical, electrical and process engineering.
“Our idea was to develop a course to engage and excite pupils, and offer hands-on and meaningful experiences to provide a basic understanding of engineering and, hopefully, promote future careers within the engineering community.
“We have been delighted at the enthusiasm shown by the participating pupils, and by the training providers in ASET, who have been tremendous in helping us develop and deliver this innovative initiative.”
Brian Wood, rector of Hazlehead Academy, said: “We are delighted with this addition to our already extensive range of partnership projects with Amec.
“The ASET link will provide pupils curious about entering the industry at a technical level with an exciting, dynamic and practical insight into opportunities for employment and training in oil&gas.”
And Mark Neilson, operations training manager for ASET, pointed out that it was vital to encourage young people into engineering as they would be the workforce of tomorrow.
The Hazlehead pilot even attracted comment from David Doig, managing director of OPITO, the North Sea industry’s training provider.
“I commend Amec for the work it is undertaking with pupils at Hazlehead Academy and, by adopting such an innovative approach, encouraging pupils to consider a future career within the oil&gas industry. I would encourage other companies to think innovatively to develop more ways of harnessing young talent.”
Of course, there are other schools also working with the offshore industry in special partnerships. But if you think your school isn’t doing enough, get in touch with Energy (jeremy.cresswell@ajl. co.uk) and we will help point you in the right direction.