OPITO's response to the Aberdeen City Council Armed Forces Initiative

Company

13th February 2014

Aberdeen City Council has announced it is to target Armed Forces personnel to fill the skills gap.

OPITO has been working closely with the Career Transition Partnership to raise awareness of the long-term career opportunities the oil and gas industry offers those leaving the Forces.The skills organisation is staging Oil & Gas Industry Awareness events at military bases across the UK throughout 2014, providing servicemen and women with information on a number of topics including the drilling process, the different types of rigs and platforms, transportation, pipeline management and the decommissioning process.

Morven Spalding, skills development director at OPITO, said: “The programme aims to address the oil and gas industry’s critical need to recruit skilled engineers, technicians for both on and offshore positions, as well as support roles such as project management and logistics.

“On-site military events are proving to be a huge success with a high attendance. They provide guidance to those about to leave the Forces towards areas of the oil and gas industry best suited to their current MoD roles, experience and capabilities which may never cross their minds otherwise.

“We want to make sure that these highly skilled individuals are aware of what’s available out there in oil and gas, both onshore and offshore, and how they can transfer their skills and knowledge across into a sector which is crying out for people with a certain level of experience and training.”

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