Transitioning from onshore to offshore thanks to funded industry training 

Supporting the younger generation to come into the offshore industry, whether in oil & gas or renewables, is crucial and offering fully funded safety training in both sectors has offered a brilliant stepping stone for young people in the north-east to seek new employment opportunities in the industry.

Cody was one of many youngsters to apply for one of the ETZ Ltd funded places with RelyOn Nutec and completing the offshore safety training has led to him making the transition from onshore hospitality into the oil & gas industry.

He has recently embarked on his first trip offshore after certifying at the Aberdeen training centre having secured a new role as a steward with Conntrak Catering, which sees him keeping the accommodation on vessels and rigs clean and sanitised and helping out in the galley during meal times.

He said: “I learned that RelyOn Nutec was offering the free courses for a limited time through a friend, so I seized the opportunity to try to start my offshore career and it’s paid off already as I managed to secure my first role soon after certifying.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the course, it was very informative, and taught me everything I needed to know before getting a start in the offshore industry”

The fully funded training courses have been utilised by hundreds of north-east workers who have taken advantage of the GWO renewables training or the offshore safety training. This has also proven to be a benefit to the organisations operating in the offshore energy sector, such as Conntrak Catering Services, Cody’s new employer.

“We’re increasingly finding that individuals applying to work for us no longer have their certification in date and cannot afford to redo the courses, so we welcome this initiative to reskill and upskill the workforce” said Jodie Bremner, HR & Crewing Coordinator at Conntrak.

“We have over 30 roles to fill and have a requirement for individuals who have one or both of their GWO or OPITO certification. Our jobs are fixed term contracts but can lead to long-term careers as each year we always give first refusal to those who have worked well for us previously.”

For Cody, both the training and the connection to RelyOn Nutec certainly helped him to secure an offshore position.

He added: “If I hadn’t completed the MIST, BOSIET and medical training with RelyOn Nutec then I wouldn’t be where I am today, plus I also learned of the job opportunity with my new employer through RelyOn Nutec.

“If anyone needs to certify or recertify or do any sort of course I’d certainly recommend RelyOn Nutec as the courses were really informative, the instructors were great, and the centre and the training is very well run.”