Aberdeen Science Centre is set to unveil its transformational new look on Wednesday, 4th November, when it will officially reopen to the public.

The OPITO Theatre of Energy’ to be unveiled when redeveloped venue opens in 2020 OPITO has invested more than £600,000 in an immersive and educational energy theatre which will be unveiled at Aberdeen Science Centre (ASC) when it reopens in summer 2020, following a multi-million-pound redevelopment.

Energy skills body OPITO has set out a strategy to prepare the UK oil and gas industry for a shift in skills requirements over the next six years.

OPITO, the global, not-for-profit skills body for the energy industry, has appointed Stuart Clow as Director with a remit focused on supporting industry safety through high-quality training and competency standards.

Students from secondary schools across the North-east of Scotland will have the opportunity to take part in an array of subsea focused activities including a virtual tour of the seabed, as part of OPITO’s Energise Your Future (EYF) today (Thursday 7 th February).

Secondary school pupils aged 16 and over from across the North-east of Scotland are being encouraged to sign up for the opportunity to delve into the innovative world of energy.

More than 100 school pupils had the chance to wear diving suits, control a subsea power turbine and work offshore using virtual reality tech as part of OPITO’s Energise Your Future (EYF) initiative at Subsea Expo 2018.

A former Peterhead Academy student who followed in his family’s footsteps into the oil and gas sector has been named by the global skills for energy body, OPITO, as its Apprentice of the Year 2017.

Global skills and standards organisation OPITO has announced the shortlist for its Safety and Competence Awards 2017. The awards will take place as part of the OPITO Safety and Competence Conference (OSCC) on the 8th November at the Royale Chulan, Kuala Lumpur, and winners will be chosen under two categories, New Thinking and New Generation. Competing for the New Thinking award are ERGT, INSTEP and Wild Geese Group, while ETSDC, KMSTC and Wood Group Training will vie for the New Generation award.

- OSCC 2017 speaker says we need culture change and tech to improve learning - Former NATO and Royal Navy strategist Andy Fawkes believes all organisations should beg, borrow or steal technological ideas from other industries to innovate and survive. He explained that both public and private sector companies work in isolation too often and is urging a culture of creativity and collaboration.

Global safety, standards and workforce development organisation OPITO has appointed John McDonald as CEO as the organisation seeks to further drive the international skills agenda for the oil and gas industry.

- OSCC 2017 speaker says if next generation’s loyalty hangs in the balance so too does the industry - Millennials expert Ryan Jenkins is warning the global oil and gas industry that it is on the brink of a dangerous ‘war on talent’ which will see young people becoming disengaged and moving into other sectors within just a few years of employment. He is urging organisations to adapt modern technology and methods to attract, train and retain young people to ensure the workforce of tomorrow also develops into a safe and competent one.

Global safety, standards and workforce development organisation OPITO has called out to the US oil and gas sector to fully embrace common industry standards to help build a stronger safety culture across the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) in line with other areas in the world. Speaking at the OTC conference on Tuesday 2nd May during a technical session on approaches to improving health, safety, and environment performance, the industry body highlighted the need for its International Offshore Emergency Response (ER) Framework to be implemented in the region to ensure personnel are equipped to react in the same way when life threatening situations occur.

- New research sheds light on youth perception of North Sea career prospects – YOUNG people living in the UK’s key energy hubs preparing for and making choices about their future careers still believe there is a long term future in the North Sea and want to pursue a career in the oil and gas industry, according to a new study. More than 500 students from Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Great Yarmouth, Waveney and Norwich were asked to contribute to the Youth Perception of a Career in the Oil & Gas Industry report which was conducted by oil and gas industry skills organisation OPITO throughout 2016. The study will be shared with industry as well as the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) National Careers Service, to help inform and shape national career initiatives in the year ahead.

A SCOTTISH-based company has become the 200th firm across the world to achieve OPITO approval after being successfully passed by the skills organisation for the oil and gas industry to roll out an essential induction programme to enhance the safety of offshore workers. Recently opened Clyde Training Solutions (CTS) is the only dedicated maritime and offshore training centre based in central and lowland Scotland. The business has achieved the OPITO standard for delivering the body’s Minimum Industry Training Standard (MIST). Holding the MIST certificate gives workers the confidence that all their peers share the same level of safety training offshore. OPITO, a not-for-profit organisation, is wholly owned by the oil and gas industry. Its aim is to deliver common standards to the global workforce which improve safety and competency. OPITO training standards and workforce development frameworks are currently used by employers in over 45 countries worldwide OPITO UK managing director John McDonald said: “This is very good news for the entire sector. Every worker has the right to go to work and return home safely. With there now being 200 training provider centres across the world able to deliver OPITO approved qualifications, we’ve turned a huge corner to ensuring the workforce receive the same high standard of training and in turn help build a sustainable and competent workforce for today and tomorrow.

THE top three international employers and training providers shortlisted to compete to be crowned winners at the annual OPITO Safety and Competency Awards in Kuala Lumpur have been announced today (28th September, 2016). Shell Nigeria, Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) and McDermott are shortlisted in the Employer of the Year category, while PT Sampson Tiara, Wild Geese and Grupo Stier have been named in the OPITO approved Training Provider of the Year section. The winning companies in each category will be unveiled during the 2016 OPITO Safety & Competency Conference (OSCC), in partnership with PETRONAS, at The Royale Chulan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Wednesday 16th November.

A delegation of industry bodies has called for the introduction of a controversial training tax to be postponed across the UK. Following a meeting led by oil and gas industry skills organisation OPITO at Holyrood yesterday (Wed, Sep 14), senior leaders in OPITO, Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce and Oil & Gas UK have warned that without more clarity and the resolution of outstanding issues, the UK Government’s apprenticeship levy should be delayed across the country until 2018.

LEADING figures from the Nigerian government and the country’s oil and gas sector have joined forces in Lagos at a one-day seminar organised by the industry’s international skills organisation OPITO, as they look to make the country’s burgeoning energy sector a safer place to work.