Every business relies on an enthusiastic, dedicated, skilled and competent workforce. Every business, I am sure, would be confident it has all of them in abundance – but the major challenge is measuring those vital ingredients.
Whilst enthusiasm and dedication may be the great unquantifiable factors in the workplace, the X-factor if you like, there is a far more structured approach to skill and competency. The message coming through loud and clear from employers is that they are not luxuries – they are necessities which are being scrutinised more closely than ever before.
As a result, our own industry, competence assurance, has moved to centre stage and is being embraced by a wealth of different industries. Oil and gas, as is so often the case, has been at the forefront of driving improvement.
As we move into the second quarter of 2014, I envisage an even greater focus on competency, in part due to ever-tightening regulation, but in the main due to an increasing knowledge and understanding of the role it has to play.
At ITB, we are committed to working with OPITO, as one of the organisation’s approved competency specialists, and other industry bodies, including Step Change in Safety, to ensure the bar continues to be set high. There is no room for complacency in a sector which is constantly evolving.
There is no doubt the driving force behind competency management in the energy sector is safety, quite understandably. However, the benefits of high standards in competency stretch far beyond those boundaries and also bring improvements in efficiency and productivity.
The effective monitoring, assessment and nurturing of skills leads to more proficient individuals and, in turn, to far stronger teams. There are a great number of commendable efforts being made to bridge the skills gap within the oil and gas industry, with a focus on attracting new entrants, and it is encouraging to see a great number of organisations also making a commitment to fostering the talent and expertise they already have at their disposal.
It was that type of passion for learning which led me down my own career path, having specialised initially as an IT trainer before branching out in oil and gas in the late 1990s. In almost two decades, the landscape in competence assurance has changed quite dramatically and in a very positive way. Assessment is an important part of the package, but proving competency through training is also increasingly being put at the top of the agenda.
I’m excited by the opportunities and innovations in the pipeline. For those willing to make the commitment to competency, the rewards are clear to see.