Member Article

Skills boost for oil, gas, offshore wind industry

A Teesside college has teamed up with an energy training specialist to help industry unlock opportunities in the offshore wind, and oil and gas sectors.

Redcar & Cleveland College and Maersk Training have come together to develop a new learning programme for professionals seeking to work on projects in these sectors.

Created by experienced industry professionals, the offshore wind programme covers areas such as fire awareness, first aid, major and minor cabling, electrical awareness, working at heights and sea survival. It will be taught across two sites, at the college’s Corporation Road campus in Redcar and Maersk Training’s base in Newcastle, and will allow learners to study for the nationally recognised qualifications they need to work in this growing sector.

The move follows several developments that have created job opportunities locally in the sector. Earlier this year Norwegian energy giant Statoil announced it was looking for North East suppliers to work on the Dogger Bank development in the North Sea. Meanwhile, thousands of jobs are being created on Humberside where Siemens is building a new turbine factory – a scheme that will create work for the North East supply chain.

There’s also the prospect of further developments coming on stream, with the Government aiming to increase the UK’s installed wind energy capacity from 6GW (gigawatts) to 10GW by 2020.

Redcar & Cleveland College has also struck an agreement with Maersk Training in Aberdeen to deliver accredited drilling courses at the college to people hoping to rise up the oil and gas industry career ladder. These include foundation and advanced programmes in drilling competency, IWCF courses covering well control and well intervention, and a senior management and incident response programme designed to upskill oil installation managers. The courses are scheduled to start this month and build upon the college’s existing learning programmes for oil and gas professionals.

Graeme Wood, project and development manager at Redcar & Cleveland College, said: “To work in the oil & gas, and offshore wind industries you need essential skills and knowledge. This is why we deliver a range of nationally recognised unique qualifications that help people retrain or plan their entry into these sectors.

“We’re excited to be working with Maersk Training’s Newcastle and Aberdeen operations and together we aim to improve the skills base of the local oil, gas and offshore wind supply chains.”

John Abate, managing director of Maersk Training in Aberdeen, said: “The oil and gas industry, and the offshore wind energy sector, are changing at a rapid pace, and there are numerous opportunities for people seeking employment. Although the oil and gas industry has been through a challenging time, the oil price has recovered recently and companies are still seeking highly skilled professionals to work on lucrative projects.

“Our partnership with Redcar & Cleveland College will help people to access training which allows them to operate safely and efficiently in these fast-paced industries.”

For further information on Redcar & Cleveland College, please call 01642 473 132 or visit http://www.cleveland.ac.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Redcar & Cleveland College .