AGR Training identifies industry skills gaps

It has leveraged existing knowledge of the industry to identify the areas causing the greatest issues for clients across a broad range of projects, establishing key partnerships to improve the level of training offered for contractors globally.

Within months of opening its doors the newly-established training division had supported more than 600 delegates through a variety of courses, including:

• • Trainee ROV Pilot Program
• • Greenhand Program
• • ACO Program
• • Blade Tech Programs
• • Industry Safety Training Globally
• • Verification and Competency Training
• •

The Trainee ROV program, which has had an overwhelming response globally, has seen every attending candidate go on to support client operations upon completion.

AGRT’s efforts to tackle the skills shortage were borne out of its understanding of the importance of training and competency to its clients and its ability to create an innovative service with the ability to identify, assess and manage training and competency for candidates and clients.

We are fully aware of the skill shortage across the energy sector, and this has played a huge part in the reason we have opened our new division.

Acknowledging the extent of the skill shortage AGRT has been set up to be proactive, not only to support the Training and Competency Requirements but to explore the promotion of the energy market as a carrier for the next generation.

Training and technical programmes are a way of collaborating with our clients to transition skill sets. AGRT have developed several bespoke Training Programs such as the ROV Training Program which has had an overwhelming response globally.

AGRT has also been building its relationships to provide skills with higher and further education institutions and with those who are leaving the military. Enabling those attempting to transition to a new career to pay for training while actively working also makes the process more accessible and breaks down the barriers to entry that put many potential candidates off.

AGRT works with clients across the industry to identify and understand the internal bespoke competence and training requirements and develops interactive online Training Management System to manage all aspects of personnel. This bespoke Training Management System (TMS) has full client traceability and enables AGRT to run real-time reports, ensuring all training requirements are foreseen and scheduled around rotations.

While the work done to identify clients training needs at the outset enables us to marry our industry leading knowledge of the recruitment market with client’s upcoming project and operational requirements, our innovative partnership with AIS Survivex allows us to add meat to the bones of what is a new approach to the supply of energy industry personnel.

The agreement sees AIS Survivex provide all UK training and competency delivery for AGR’s new division, as well as helping identify and manage training globally via industry-recognised training partners.

Its been a tough few years for the energy industry, and with many workers having left the sector following the Covid pandemic, companies now considerable resourcing issues as activity now ramps up. This new approach addresses the issue head on to ensure a steady stream of fully compliant, skilled, safety-conscious personnel are available to employers as and when they need them.

But it is vital that we look to the future, too, in attracting new talent to the industry, which is why we’re establishing partnerships with universities and increasingly targeting those leaving the military and other sectors with transferrable skills.

Offering targeted training programmes and attracting new talent will be key to the development of new projects which are key to our collective net zero ambitions, but simplifying the offshore working requirements will represent a huge step forward too.

That’s why alignment of offshore safety and technical standards being progressed on behalf of industry will be a welcome boost to many who have the skills and capability to work across multiple sectors of our energy industry to contribute more broadly to the transition.

At every stage collaboration is key, and we must continue to pull together to realise the potential of the energy transition for our industry and our workforce.

Read the latest issue of the OGV Energy magazine HERE