Join us and see the world” might sound like a cliché, but it is a very real possibility for the growing number of graduates joining global offshore survey company UTEC.
The company recently reinforced its presence in Scotland with the opening of new regional headquarters in Aberdeen.
From there it provides services in the North Sea and West Africa and supports operations in the Mediterranean and North Africa in conjunction with the company’s Naples office.
In addition to Aberdeen and Naples, UTEC’s global reach extends to numerous locations including Houston, Rio de Janeiro, Perth, Singapore, St John’s and Dubai.
Thanks to a significant number of contract awards in 2012 coupled with general improvement in the industry, the company is accelerating its graduate programme to ensure the right people are in the right place to honour an increasing workload.
With three graduates taken on last September, three more have just joined the ranks and a further three are expected to start later in the year.
Aberdeen-based managing director Kevin McBarron said: “There has been a big shift in the resources we currently need to support our clients, partly because the market is experiencing rapid growth following a period of relative inactivity caused by the global downturn and partly because of UTEC’s efforts to grow the business in this region.
“There is also a shortage of personnel in the 25 to 35 age group throughout the offshore survey industry and the market is tight for skilled personnel so we have to recruit and train people to fill multiple roles, at all levels. It’s a tried and tested way of getting the best people to drive our business forward. We are a service business; the quality of our offshore staff is integral to our success and we are committed to continued investment in training.
“Most of the graduates we take on come from universities such as Newcastle, Glasgow, Plymouth, Dublin and Bangor due to the specialist nature of the courses taught there, but we also have close links with colleges and universities closer to home.”
Using the International Marine Contractors’ Association (IMCA) competency scheme as the framework for its training, UTEC takes on graduates to train as surveyors, data processors or both.
Following basic training and exposure to both data acquisition and processing offshore, the path is then tailored to the individual depending on their strengths and interests.
UTEC survey manager Jamie Laing said: “We quickly get new graduates trained to a stage where they can safely go offshore. Experience has proved that hands-on is the best way to learn so initially they will be shadowing as an extra person, perhaps for one or two trips. This offshore experience is then consolidated by onshore classroom training. The combination of shadowing and training courses brings the new recruits on rapidly and allows UTEC to confidently deploy them on projects.
“Because of the UTEC global footprint, our people often get the chance to travel, although we recruit for the region we do frequently swap people around geographically to take account of the skills and manpower required by projects, this aspect of the job is a very attractive to lots of graduates.”
Glasgow University graduate Colin Vallance is taking part in the UTEC programme, following the completion of a degree in geography and a post grad in geospatial and mapping sciences. The trainee hydrographic surveyor said: “UTEC attracted me because it is an expanding company that values interaction from colleagues and offshore staff through to the management.
“I really liked getting hands-on right from the start and gaining offshore experience within two months of starting. Adapting to offshore life is a challenge but it is definitely worth it.”
Welshman Liam Ellis graduated from the University of Southampton with a masters degree in geophysics and, after a spell with a small nearshore survey company, he joined UTEC at the beginning of September.
He added: “I am delighted to be joining a company which offers a broad range of training opportunities both in-house and offshore and I am looking forward to making the most of learning about many kinds of equipment and software as I get to know my job.”
