Closed Bell Diving Courses Relaunched at The Underwater Centre
and course is seen by industry as key to maintaining the U.K.’s ability to train closed bell divers and underlines confidence that demand for saturation divers will grow as the energy sector continues to recover from the global downturn.Industry and public bodies including Oil & Gas UK, Subsea UK, Subsea 7, TechnipFMC, Premier Oil and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) recently collaborated to support The Underwater Centre and ensure its future success.Located in Fort William in the Scottish Highlands, the company now operates as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and is
Subsea NE Names Heppenstall Regional Chairman
chairman, taking over the reins of Subsea North East from Andrew Hodgson. CEO of BEL Valves and former general manager for the GE Oil & Gas Wellstream division, Heppenstall will be tasked with promoting the North-east sector on a global scale to maximize opportunities, while working with Subsea UK, the national industry body to provide a forum for collaboration, diversification and technology development. With the region’s subsea sector generating more than £1.5 billion a year and accounting for 20 percent of manufacturing jobs, he will ensure the region
Corbin Joins Sparrows Group as European Director
UK regional general manger for GE Oil & Gas. Most recently, he was supply chain consultant to the UK Government’s regulatory body, the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) and contributed to Oil & Gas UK’s Efficiency Task Force. Corbin, who has been a board member of industry body Subsea UK since 2014, has also been supporting Scottish Enterprise’s ‘Grey Matters’ program in an advisory capacity. Based in Aberdeen, Corbin will lead the UK and European business operations for Sparrows. He will be responsible for maintaining its leading market share position in lifting
O&G Seeks Clarity on New Skills Tax
introduction. “In the current and very challenging climate for the oil and gas industry, we have always maintained that this is the wrong tax, coming at the wrong time. However, it will come into force next spring and employers rightly need to know what’s happening. Subsea UK represents the country’s £9 billion subsea industry which employs around 50,000 people within 750 companies, many of whom will be liable for the new tax. Chief executive, Neil Gordon, said, “Due to the lack of information from the Scottish government, this is being
How Can the Marine Industry Counteract Its Aging Workforce?
the public domain. The IMO also ran the Year of the Seafarer in 2010. Many similar organizations and campaigns have been set up – the U.K. alone has seen the advent of the Maritime Skills Alliance, Careers and Sea, charity Seafarers U.K. (which runs the yearly Seafarers Awareness Week) and Subsea U.K., all with the purpose to educate younger people about the maritime opportunities available to them and the benefits a career at sea can bring. Some ports world have taken the initiative to partner up with training colleges and universities, for example the Port of Los Angeles partners
Subsea UK to Support SMEs with Apprenticeships
Subsea UK has launched a new support service to bring fresh, young talent into the subsea sector by making it easier for businesses to recruit apprentices. Research conducted by the industry body which represents the U.K.’s $14 billion subsea sector revealed the barriers for SMEs in setting up apprenticeships. These are broadly the time and cost involved in what is perceived as a complex process. Subsea UK’s scheme will provide financial support and specific help with making the process simpler so that small firms can benefit from apprentices and develop the next generatio
New Online Learning Program for Subsea Engineers
Subsea UK has launched its new online learning program to support the development of new engineers and technicians entering the subsea sector and to develop graduates to become the next generation of engineers to help the UK’s $14 billion subsea sector achieve its global potential. The Introduction to Subsea Engineering course can be completed in around 60 hours, spread over eight weeks. Students will study a series of modules to become fully inducted into a sector which has revolutionized the way in which hydrocarbons are extracted since its early days in the late seventies. Initially
New Market Intelligence for Subsea Companies
Subsea UK has launched a new market intelligence service to help subsea companies exploit global opportunities. The industry body, which represents the UK’s $13.3 billion subsea sector, has developed SubseaIntel – a unique on-line database which provides regularly updated details on almost 1,200 subsea projects worldwide. Subsea UK says this unique database will provide sought-after subsea market intelligence all in one place, at the touch of a button. Subsea Intel allows users to delve deeper into current projects across the globe and discover upcoming opportunities using intensively
New Skills Resource for the O&G Industry
450,000 jobs across the UK, of which around 50 percent are in Scotland I am delighted that industry and stakeholders are working together to ensure that the skills issue within the industry does not impact future growth.” The Oil & Gas Skills Navigator is supported by Oil & Gas UK, Subsea UK, Decom North Sea, NOF Energy, Energy North, the Offshore Contractors Association, Scottish Council for Development and Industry, the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board, Skills for Energy, the International Association of Drilling Contractors North Sea Chapter; and Aberdeen and Grampian
Bibby Offshore Wins Investment in People Award
approach proves that goals can be achieved through empowering staff and employing excellent people.” Earlier this year, Bibby Offshore won both the Commitment to People Development and the Outstanding Contribution to the Energy Sector awards at the 2014 Northern Star Business Awards, and the Subsea UK Company of the Year award. Bibby Offshore has grown from 10 employees in 2003 to now employ more than 1,450 people onshore and offshore worldwide, with offices in Aberdeen, Liverpool, Newcastle, Singapore, Houston, Norway and Trinidad. The company currently has an international fleet of seven subsea
Seath Takes Over as Decom North Sea GM
DNS Director Nigel Lees will be in the new OGUK Decom forum, and thus into the INSITE program and MASTS, DNS Board Member Paul Charlton is Chairman of NOF Energy, while DNS Chairman Callum Falconer sits on the OGP and SUT decommissioning committees. There are strong, well-established links into EEEGR, Subsea UK, OCA, DECC, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Energy North and the Nuclear Industry Association. The “game changer” will emerge from this network. decomnorthsea.com
Proserv on a Roll to Attract New Talent
new talent into the energy industry. Proserv, which has seen its talent pool soar through organic growth and a succession of strategic acquisitions, is to take on new apprentices and ex-military personnel after participating in a Mobilizing the Military initiative organized by subsea industry body, Subsea UK, last Friday. The event at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre was established to address the energy industry’s skills shortage by encouraging former members of the armed forces to transfer into the subsea sector. It brings together Subsea UK members and highly-skilled service
