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16 September 2021
Since the commencement of the Atlas Greenhand Training Programme in August 2018, Atlas’ Aberdeen office has successfully placed 150 Greenhand Roustabouts and helped them kick-start their offshore journey in the North Sea.
September 9, Aberdeen: Martin Stuart – an Atlas Professional, recently made a successful career transition from working as an NDT Technician onshore to an offshore Roustabout with offshore Drilling Contractor Valaris. His onboarding marked the 150th Greenhand Roustabout Placement, proving yet again that the company’s Training Programme in Aberdeen, is a huge success amongst professionals with relevant transferable skills looking for a career offshore. It is also bringing in new talent to the North Sea, where the industry is constantly on the lookout for skilled hands.
With the drilling industry predicting a 10% rise in its activities in 2021 and 2022 the Greenhand Training Programme provides a valuable talent pool for companies to choose their personnel. Alex Palla, Team Leader Drilling at Atlas Professionals, says, “When we started in 2018, we aimed to invest in people with transferrable skills and give them an opportunity for a successful career transition. With this 150th placement, we have outdone the goals we had set for ourselves. The initiative is thriving, and we are happy to be contributing new professionals with relevant skill sets to the market. We aim to create a bigger talent pool for our clients and give potential offshore aspirants a competitive edge with our tailored training programme.”
Onshore to offshore – a smooth transition
Martin Stuart, says, “After working as an NDT technician onshore, I thought this was the right time to start my new career offshore. I will now work with Valaris in Aberdeen, and this smooth transition has been made possible with the Greenhand Training Programme. I am now looking forward to progressing up the ladder from here on and am excited about this offshore journey.
Candidate selection procedure
With the Greenhand Training days gaining popularity amongst talented professionals wanting to make a career switch, the selection procedure is carefully monitored. The company has placed 38% of applicants not everybody successfully progresses, explains Palla, “We choose applicants with transferable skill sets, they are required to complete a skills assessment, complete an aptitude test and are then interviewed by one of our Account Managers. We do this to analyse both their mindset and competence level. The shortlisted candidates then gain access to exclusive discounted training rates with Atlas’ partnering training and certification institutes.”
Training Days – making safety a priority
The Greenhand Programme has several parts to its process. The training day being a crucial one. On this day, which is free of charge for Greenhands to attend, the company advises selected candidates about the vital aspects of working offshore.
Mark McDonald, Senior HSEQ Advisor at Atlas Professionals, explains, “We brief them about the certifications required, dos and don’ts, shift patterns and rig recreational information. Safety has been the topmost priority for Atlas. Our training day also includes a session on protection against hand and finger injuries, prevention of dropped objects, line of fire, major accident events and STOP work authority is explained. This training gives our Greenhands the best chance to succeed and ensures that they come back injury free from their place of work.”
For more details on the Greenhand Training Programme, click here.
