OilVoice - Transformation Training Programme Sees OPITO Shortlisted for National Award

Transformation Training Programme Sees OPITO Shortlisted for National Award

Thursday, March 18, 2010

OPITO - The Oil & Gas Academy has been shortlisted for a prestigious national award which recognises the support colleges provide in helping businesses develop and grow.

The Aberdeen-headquartered Academy has been nominated in the Business to College Awards which take place on Wednesday, 24 March at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh.

The company, which acts as the focal point for skills, training and workforce development in the UK oil and gas industry, has been short-listed in the Innovation category as a result of a partnership formed with Forth Valley Collage, which aims to turn redundancy into opportunity for unemployed engineers through effective skills utilisation.

The Academy developed the Transformation Training Programme which was successfully piloted by Forth Valley Collage in response to redundancies created in the mechanical and engineering sectors within the Falkirk and Grangemouth area due to the recession.

The programme offers individuals with transferable skills the potential to take advantage of a new and exciting career in the offshore industry both here in the UK and internationally, ensuring their skills are re-utilised to the fullest.

On completion successful candidates receive widely recognised and approved certification accepted by all industry employers.

OPITO Group CEO David Doig said:
'Part of the Academy's role is to ensure that we have a wave of people moving into the industry to offset losses generated by the global opportunities it offers. With many Scots being made redundant in the last year as a result of the recession - and many of those from skilled trades - this model is an efficient way to neatly transfer skills from an area of decline in the economy into an area of growth. This partnership outlines the importance of Government, the learning supply chain and industry, through its Academy, working together to achieve a common goal.'

The second annual Business to College Awards are part of Scotland's Colleges Mean Business, a campaign which aims to raise awareness of the business support available from Scotland's network of 43 further education colleges.

The campaign and awards bring together, for the first time, Scotland's leading business and skills organisations - the Scottish Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, Alliance Sector Skills Councils, Business Gateway, CBI Scotland, Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Qualifications Authority and Highlands and Islands Enterprise - to support the initiative.