A skills and training alliance is aiming to significantly increase international energy-industry business for Scottish universities, colleges and training providers.
The drive by the International Energy Skills and Training Alliance (IESTA) is being led by new chief executive Helen Tulloch and chairman Neil Harkin.
Aberdeen-based IESTA is supported by Scottish Enterprise and brings together the best of education and training providers north of the border to offer a one-stop shop for skill solutions to the global energy industry.
Ms Tulloch, formerly of En-ergise and ITF, has almost 20 years’ business-development experience and more than 30 years’ in the oil and gas industry in the UK and overseas.
She will be responsible for promoting the alliance to global companies looking to access oil and gas-industry training in areas such as health and safety, IT, engineering and project management.
In addition to his chairman role, Mr Harkin continues as a director of Learn IT.
IESTA now represents a network of 14 training and education providers after 2020 Business Insight, Enterprise Ways and Macdonald Energy joined in recent months.
Ms Tulloch said: “With membership now representing some of the best energy sector training on offer anywhere in the world, the time is right to aggressively pursue new opportunities for these organisations and actively promote Scotland as a leader in skills development for the energy industry.
“As the Scottish oil and gas industry has developed, a world-class training and education offering has grown up alongside it. This training portfolio, like the North Sea industry it serves, has earned a reputation for technological excellence, best practice and the highest operational and HSE standards. This expertise presents a compelling proposition for global companies, particularly in emerging markets and IESTA’s aim is for our education and training providers to win significant international market share. Under the umbrella of the alliance they will be able to access opportunities that they would be unable to on their own. Through collaboration in this way, they can bid for bigger contracts.”
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