Many of you who are based in the Grampian region will be aware of how difficult it can be to find employment in the Oil and Gas/ Energy industry if you don’t have any experience. It’s the old 'catch 22'; you need to gain experience to get the role, but without experience, you can’t get your foot in the door. For this reason The Prince’s Trust, Enterprise North East Trust, The Wood Family Trust and Tullos Training have teamed together to create the Get into Oil and Gas training scheme for people aged 16-25 who are unemployed, and not in education or training.
The six week course offers the candidates training in the basics of four areas of engineering- welding, bench fitting, electronics and machining. The four weeks’ training is followed by a two week work placement, where young people get to experience a real workshop environment. Participating companies have job vacancies that many of the young people will have the opportunity to progress to after their placement. So far we have helped many young people get a foot in the door to their chosen industry post-programme.
The scheme also involves employability skills training, where the candidates are given experience of an interview situation with Thorpe Molloy recruitment. They receive direct feedback from those conducting the interviews, which makes a huge different to the approach the trainees take when in an interview situation following their training.
In May 2014, we concluded the Get into Oil and Gas scheme with 12 trainees. We rely on the contribution of private businesses to share their expertise and employment opportunities to help the programmes make a difference in the community. We thank Bob Steel at Caledonian Petroleum Services, George Corbett at Belmar, Gillian Slessor at Enovate, Kim Woolner at Richard Irvin, and Stuart Anderson at Quayside Fabrication for their input in the May 2014 Get into Oil and Gas programme. These businesses and individuals help to give a national programme a local flavour- their support is essential to the continued growth and success of the programmes.
The recent Oil and Gas programme was our third of its type in Aberdeen, and as the programmes go from strength to strength, so do our trainees! Programme One graduates Ashley Cruikshank and Gavin Heddle have been honoured at this year’s Tullos Training Annual Awards Ceremony. Gavin received the Divex Innovation Award, and Ashley was recognised as Best Welding/Fabrication Apprentice. We are so pleased that the programme produces such stellar assets to the companies who give them a chance in the industry.
But that’s enough from us - here are some comments from some of the trainees who took part in our Get Into Oil and Gas scheme concluding in May 2014, these comments were taken from the final Celebration Event and you can see the pictures of the event and each of the participants here. Congratulations to each of the participants who should be proud of their acheivements in this scheme.
Adam Bathgate
"I was just jumping from bar job to bar job, with no relevant qualifications, and decided that I wanted a bit more direction in my life. A friend of mine did one of the Prince’s Trust Get into Oil and Gas courses, and persuaded me to go along to the interview. This course has given me the chance to learn machining, and in the future I see myself completing an apprenticeship and starting a career as a machinist. Thanks to my friend Martin, Lynne Martin, and all the Prince’s Trust staff; Jim and the staff at Tullos Training, and George Corbett and the staff at Belmar."
Bronwyn Heatherwick
"At school I always wanted to do hairdressing, but I tried it out and decided it wasn’t for me. I needed to fill my timetable as I was a winter school leaver, and did the Shell Girls into Energy course. This helped me decide that I’d like a career in Oil and Gas. For the last three months of the course I did work experience at Score, where I did non-destructive testing. I have decided that that is what I want to do. I think courses like the one I did at school are really important for getting girls into the industry, and there are lots more boy engineers than girls."
Rudy Boateng
"Hi I’m Rudy and I’ll be talking about the Tullos Training process. I spent four weeks in Tullos learning bench work, machining, welding and electronics. I tried my best at all of it, but in the end I found welding more appealing and more enjoyable. I found out the more I focussed, the better I got. The last two weeks I was lucky enough to be placed at CPS where I learned a lot of different skills and disciplines like TIG, MIG and Stick welding, which I found really interesting. All the staff were really nice- they made something I thought was difficult really easy to understand. I would like to thank CPS for allowing me to witness the work they do, and for making me feel at home. I’d like to thank Lynne and Jim for giving me the opportunity to be a part of the Oil and Gas course. I feel very proud and lucky because 98 people applied to be a part of this, and I ended up being in the final group."
Alec MacDonald
"When I was asked to speak I shied away from it, but then I remembered my favourite motto: Plan, Do, Review, and I thought that there was no better way to review than to do it with you all here today. I’d like to tell you about the recruitment process. At the start of this, I couldn’t help but take inspiration from Aberdeen’s cup run. The first part of the process was a one to one interview. I felt that it was like the quarter final. Once we were through the one to one, we were taken to the first taster day where we did a few teambuilding exercises and spoke to people from industry. That was like the semi-final. Then there was a second taster day that was a lot more hands on, where we got to try some bench fitting and electronics. That was like the final. And the phone call to tell me I was on the course? That was like lifting the cup. I’d like to thank Lynne and Jim for the opportunity, and Enovate for taking me in for my placement."
Ceinan Lawson
"Standing here in front of you today, it’s hard for me to believe that just seven months ago I was homeless, and hopping from one friend’s house to another, thousands of miles away in the Middle East. Eventually enough was enough, and I managed to get myself back to Aberdeen to live with my grandparents. I was in Skills Development Scotland every day applying for jobs for five months and nothing delivered. Eventually Nausheen noticed me coming in five days a week and decided to help me, and I was referred to the Prince’s Trust due to my interest in Oil and Gas. I can honestly say that this has turned my life around. I’m now motivated, productive, and have set myself goals to accomplish. The course consisted of bench fitting, machining, electronics and welding. Bench fitting, machining, electronics just weren’t for me, but once I picked up that welding torch I took complete interest in it, got my head down and I just kept trying until I cracked it. I was placed at CPS for my work placement and from day one I enjoyed every single minute of it. The employees were extremely welcoming and helpful- always making sure I had something to do, and understood everything. My week at CPS was a massive eye opener and a proper taste of the real working world."
If your business would like to contribute to upcoming 'Get into…' programmes in any way, please contact Programme Manager Lynne Martin on 07787 518392 or email lynne.martin@enetrust.com You can also see more at www.princes-trust.org.uk/Scotland or by following The Prince’s Trust on twitter @PrincesTrustSco
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