OPITO – The Oil & Gas Academy will today (May 5) reveal its progress to date in promoting a pan-industry approach towards the long-term success of the North Sea energy industry to both the Government and a global audience at the largest oil and gas event in the world.
The Academy is hosting a reception at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston in the presence of UK Minister of State for Energy Malcolm Wicks and invited guests to champion its groundbreaking efforts in the global arena.
An industry funded, employer-led organisation, the first-of-its-kind Academy aims to provide an effective link between the industry and learning providers across the UK to ensure the ongoing supply of relevantly qualified people into the oil and gas industry.
Tonight’s event, at Fox Sports Grill, Houston Galleria, will provide a platform for the Academy to build on its achievements and further spread the message about the need for operators and education providers across the sector to get involved.
The Minister said: "OPITO has had a successful and busy first few months targeting and attracting young talent emerging from our schools, colleges and universities to work in this important and exciting industry. It is vital we recognise the importance graduates can play to meeting the skills challenge and the online webpage OPITO is developing will help to do that."
Around 24 countries worldwide use OPITO learning products with a staggering 96,000 people trained to OPITO standards in 2007 – 47,000 of which were overseas.
David Doig, chief executive of the Academy, said: “While the Academy’s overall aim is to create a sustainable and effective workforce for the UK we appreciate that the issues and the needs of this vibrant and exciting industry are global and as such, we have a worldwide remit.
“OTC provides a fantastic platform for us to highlight the work we have carried out since the Academy was launched in December 2007 and spread the message among a broader range of businesses about how we can help them be competitive on the global stage through a highly skilled and motivated workforce.”
Around 100 representatives from the education and industry sectors are expected to attend tonight’s event at Fox Sports Grill, from 5pm-8pm.
To find out more about OPITO, view their profile from the 'Oil Industry Organisations' link - part of the Oil Industry Directory