ADAM Smith College could secure a sizeable contract with Libya to provide training for 300 oil & gas students, following the success of a fast-track HND course in petroleum engineering tailored to the needs of a pathfinder batch of students from the north African state.
The Scottish central belt institution said the group which had just completed its studies had completed the work in one year instead of two.
The HND in petroleum engineering was delivered to senior Libyan oil & gas workers aged between 20 and 35. Over the past 20 years, Adam Smith said it had delivered 36 training contracts in the petroleum sector.
To meet industry demand for a skilled workforce for oil and gas production, the college developed the HND in petroleum engineering with a focus on environmental awareness.
However, the course, presented as a result of a strong partnership between the college, SMART Specialists International and Libyan oil companies Harouge Oil and Mellitah Oil, will be the last of its kind in Scotland, after proposals from the National Oil Corporation (NOC) in Libya decreed that oil & gas industry workers can no longer visit the UK for more than six months.
To get around the problem, SMART Specialists International has set up a training centre that enables workers to train for six months in Libya and six months in the UK, for which Adam Smith College has been approached to provide training.
The training in question would be short courses provided to supervisors, team leaders and senior managers.
This would be carried out by Adam Smith College in association with SMART Specialists International and delivered at the SMART-Libya training centre in Tripoli.
Dr David Astill, director of international business development at the college, visited the facility recently.
He said: “We look forward to a continuing and strengthening partnership with the Libyan oil & gas sector, as we try to assist them develop a skilled and flexible workforce by delivery of training in Scotland and in Libya.”