COLLEGE student Mark Wigginton is top of the class after being named oil&gas industry Apprentice of the Year by OPITO – The Oil & Gas Academy.
Wigginton, 24, from Haddington, East Lothian, is currently training to become an instrument and control technician through full-time study at Jewel & Esk College in Edinburgh, one of four industry-appointed colleges in the UK. According to OPITO, he faced stiff competition from apprentice technicians across Scotland studying disciplines including mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and process.
The Upstream Modern Apprenticeship scheme is managed by the academy in partnership with the Engineering and Construction Industry Training Board.
About 100 trainee positions are available annually in the scheme, which is open to anyone aged 16 or over and claims one of the best retention rates in the country, with a massive 91% of apprentices completing the course and going on to find employment, compared with the national average of 55%.
In the 10 years the programme has been running, it has seen more than 1,000 apprentices take their newfound talents into the workforce, creating a grassroots solution to attracting and developing a competent and stable workforce for the future.
Operators and major contractors have invested more than £73million of industry money directly to the MA scheme, making it one of the most relevant in terms of equipping the next generation of workers with the range of skills and experience employers need.
More information on the upstream oil&gas industry technician training scheme and OPITO – The Oil & Gas Academy can be found at www.opito.com or www.oilandgas4u.com