UK Minister Opens North Sea Oil and Gas Industry Learning Centre

Fergus Ewing, the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism opened a new learning centre this week which makes practical, classroom and eLearning training delivered under one roof available to the regions North Sea oil and gas industry for the first time.

The 3,800sqft Mintra Learning Centre at Kingseat Business Park, Newmachar, has capacity to train up to 65 people a day across more than 200 industry-critical courses. The facility, which marks a five-figure investment for the company, provides traditional classroom-based facilities, specialist areas for practical learning and an e-learning centre for invigilated testing, the facility meets the industry’s demand for competency-driven training.

Around 80 guests attended the launch event. This week the centre will deliver the first ever OPITO approved electronic Control of Work Performing Authority course, which will enhance Mintra’s blended Control of Work programmes, and expects to deliver training to several thousand personnel this year.

 Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said: “It was a pleasure to visit and open Mintra’s new learning centre this week. Mintra is an impressive example of a leading provider of learning, training and competency solutions for the oil and gas industry. I am delighted that this centre will meet the industry’s demand for competency-driven training.

“The oil and gas sector is vitally important to Scotland’s economy. With more than half of the value of the North Sea’s oil and gas reserves yet to be extracted, up to 24 billion recoverable barrels with a potential wholesale value of £1.5 trillion, oil and gas will remain an enormous economic resource for decades to come.

“Scotland’s Oil and Gas Strategy, developed in conjunction with industry, lays out a plan to help the industry go from strength to strength, and rising capital investment – reaching £8.5bn in 2011 and expected to rise to £11.5bn in 2012 – demonstrates the confidence investors and the industry have in Scotland.”

The event follows on from Mintra’s recent announcement that it has recently secured a number of new training contracts worth £8million. The company is on track to significantly exceed its growth targets in its second year of business.

Managing director Peter Conner said: “Combined with our ambitious vision for growth, the buoyant global offshore market and our extremely robust order book have given us the confidence to invest significantly in our business.

“We take great pride in working with the oil and gas industry to provide the tailored solutions needed to build and enhance the skills and competency of the offshore workforce and address human factors. As one of the few training companies in the UK – and the first in the north-east – able to provide this fully integrated blended learning service, the new centre significantly bolsters our capability whilst bringing improved operational performance, productivity and safety to the North Sea sector.”

Mintra Training Portal Limited, a joint venture between Norwegian firm Mintra A.S. and entrepreneurial investment company Enerco Venture, provides bespoke and generic training to more than 250,000 people in over 300 companies in the oil and gas industry every year.

Mintra has a team of over 80 specialists in Aberdeen, Oslo and Stavanger and recently invested over £2million in its flagship Training Portal learning management system.

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Press Release, February 27, 2013