Fuelling the Future

June 2014

In an event organised in partnership with Forth Valley College and Global Science young people from the Forth Valley area were able to find out about job opportunities in the oil and gas sector at a recent event held at Forth Valley College.

The ‘Fuelling the Future’ event was held at the Falkirk Campus on Wednesday 11 June.

Fergus Ewing MSP, Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism and Mike Duncan, Director, Energy Skills Scotland, were the driving force behind the event which was organised in partnership with Forth Valley College and Global Science.

The event provided young learners with the opportunity to find out about the Oil & Gas sector and the wide range of careers available in the North East of Scotland and beyond. Energy Skills Scotland (ESS) is also organising similar events at Ayrshire College and Inverness College.

Pupils from schools across the local area were invited to participate in a wide range of practical workshops and demonstrations. There were also a range of speakers on the day including Dr Ken Thomson, Principal Forth Valley College; Dorothy Burke, Director of En-ergise Technology; Douglas Ormiston, Technical Marketing Manager and Alison Spice, Skills Development Manager for OPITO.

On the day attendees learned about the long term future of the sector and the key role it plays in Scotland’s economy.

A number of employers from the sector also attended to offer advice and provide information on opportunities available. They included ECITB, FMCTI, INEOS, OPITO, Petrofac, Shell, Transitions for Industry Centre and Wood Group.

Dr Ken Thomson, Principal for Forth Valley College said:
“The event aimed to dispel the myth that you can only work in the oil and gas sector if you want to don overalls and get your hands dirty. Whilst this may be the case for some jobs, there is in fact a huge range of highly skilled careers available. The oil and gas sector offers many different opportunities for young people and we were delighted that so many of the employers we work with came along to offer information and advice. The speakers and workshops at the event were also selected to showcase the diverse nature of careers available and also highlight how exciting it can be to work in this industry.
“We were also delighted to provide information on the many innovative training opportunities available at Forth Valley College. We continue to be one of the best colleges in Scotland to gain the skills and qualifications needed to work in the oil and gas sector. Our state-of-the-art facilities and location next to the Grangemouth Strip makes us ideally placed to be at the forefront of energy skills for Scotland and our excellent links with employers have been proven time and time again to benefit our students.”

Jane Allan, Energy Sector Manager at Energy Skills Scotland said:
“We are delighted to work in partnership with Forth Valley College to run this important event which demonstrated the wide diversity of careers available in the sector, both onshore and off shore. It also challenged the perception that the future for oil & gas in the North Sea is short-lived. The event demonstrated the long-term future of the sector, both here in Scotland and globally. Parents were able to attend in the evening and had the opportunity to develop their understanding of careers in the sector.
“ESS is working with Education Scotland and colleges around the country to promote these events to ensure as many pupils as possible have the opportunity to engage with employers and understand, first-hand, the range of careers in the sector.”

Frank McKeever, STEM Manager for Global Science said:
“This has been a fantastic event. I’ve spoken to teachers and pupils and they’re all really pleased with the standard of the information provided.”

[Source: Fuelling Futures]

For more news please see our News section.