Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Reaching for the top

Post Thumbnail

The next generation of the oil and gas industry is ready to reach new career heights after an action-packed first week with Petrofac’s Offshore Projects and Operations (OPO) business in Aberdeen.

Twenty-two graduates and four design and draughting trainees have joined OPO’s graduate and apprentice future talent programmes this year.

Before embarking on their first working week, the graduates and trainees were given an introduction to the oil and gas industry – and to Petrofac.

There was also a team-building day at the Transition Extreme sports facility in Aberdeen, where they took part in a range of activities at height, working closely together to solve problems and overcome challenges.

The OPO graduate programme started in 2009 with an intake of two. Since then it has recruited more than 90 graduates, while gaining accreditation from four major institutions – the Institution of Chemical Engineers, the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution of Engineering and Technology – the last two of which have been reaccredited this year.

The first two years sees graduates undertaking a structured programme of key learning elements, followed by two years in a supervised development role, with support from a mentor to help them reach chartered status or full professional membership in their discipline.

Engineering graduate Garry Steel said: “On leaving university I wanted to pursue a career in oil and gas and join a company that offered a well-structured and accredited graduate programme, where you would be supported to achieve your professional aspirations.

“With Petrofac I’ll gain exposure to all the different areas of my discipline as well as the wider industry, which I feel is important in the early stages of my career as it will help me develop into a well-rounded engineer.”

Petrofac has also welcomed its largest intake of offshore maintenance apprentices.

Ten recruits will start a two-year course at Forth Valley College in Falkirk, before joining Petrofac offshore for a further two years to become qualified maintenance technicians. The course is delivered in partnership with industry bodies Oil & Gas UK and OCA, as well as skills development organisations ECITB and OPITO.

Petrofac Offshore Projects and Operations human resources director Paul Matthews said: “I’m delighted to be able to welcome 36 new graduates, trainees and apprentices to the business.

“We have a strong focus on attracting young talent to the industry and programmes in place to support and develop them to their maximum potential.

“These schemes link into Petrofac’s continuing investment into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (Stem) programmes, encouraging young people to remain engaged in Stem subjects at school, which we feel is key to the long-term sustainability of the industry.”

Petrofac is returning this year as a sponsor of the TechFest secondary schools outreach programme and will be delivering its own oil and gas workshop for pupils.