The world’s leading safety training provider has made a five-figure investment at its Aberdeen facility to diversify into offshore wind safety training.
RelyOn Nutec, a global safety training expert in the oil and gas market, has updated its centres at Foinavon Close and Wellheads Road with a £60,000 refurbishment to accommodate new wind safety training courses.
The company recently achieved Global Wind Organisation (GWO) accreditation in Aberdeen, leading the way to new courses being launched in January 2020 to support the growing wind industry in the region.
The accreditation will allow RelyOn’s safety experts to transfer their offshore knowledge to deliver GWO basic and refresher training, enhanced first aid, and slinger signal courses.
It follows a demand from the wind industry for access to more training as developments are expected to increase in the next decade.
It is estimated that up to 6,400 additional jobs will be required in Scotland’s offshore wind industry by 2032 with more than 1,000 wind turbines being installed in coastal waters north of the border.
The global safety, skills and competency training organisation has been delivering GWO training at its Teesside centre for the past five years.
The Aberdeen investment includes an extension to the platform in the pool area to mock-up realistic safety transfers from a vessel to a turbine, an updated fast rescue boat, new ancillary equipment for working at height and rescue, and extending the existing working at height platform at Wellheads.
James Dixon, product development manager, RelyOn Nutec UK, said: “There are major offshore wind developments under way in the UK, in north-east Scotland and north-east England, so both of our UK centres are very well positioned to fully support the industry, with required accreditation as it grows around our shores.
“There are a couple of large projects forthcoming in the Moray Firth,
Firth of Forth and north of Edinburgh, so achieving GWO accreditation for our Aberdeen centre was essential to support our client requirements.
“Our team members are highly experienced, and their skills are transferable as the wind industry works towards achieving the same safe working practices that we have seen instilled in the oil and gas industry for decades.”
The GWO courses available at RelyOn Nutec from mid-January will provide entry level training for people looking to retrain for wind industry opportunities and advanced training for those already working in the industry and looking to enhance their skill base.
RelyOn Nutec has 33 training centres across the world, including two UK centres in Aberdeen and Teesside, which have 72 and 23 employees respectively, and delivers safety and skills training to more than 250,000 delegates annually in oil and gas, maritime, renewables and other high-risk industries.