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THE EVOLUTION OF VIRTUAL TRAINING ANYWHERE, ANYTIME
Petrofac’s Training Services business has been successfully delivering courses and setting industry standards for more than four decades.
In that time technology has transformed the way people work, learn and train. As COVID-1 9 continues to impact working practices across the globe, Petrofac is providing its customers with more digital solutions than ever before, while continuing to safely deliver practical training from its centres in Aberdeen and Montrose, UK.
The company, which operates globally, has introduced additional eLearning courses, as well as online competency packages, and an interactive, virtual emergency response and crisis management hub. Petrofac is the leader in energy industry safety, survival, marine and emergency management training and has enrolled more than a million people in the UK since its inception.
A trusted partner, known for its customerfocused approach, the company has the broadest range of up-to-date energy industry training, delivered by a highly-experienced team of trainers.
Virtual learning and digital training are playing an increasingly important role, which, combined with physical practical teaching,
effective and enhanced learning experience.
Jill Ogilvie, Petrofac’s Training Services Customer Care and Business Development Manager said: “The way we deliver training and provide our emergency response services has changed hugely over the years, as we continue to embrace new technologies, modern working practices and blended learning options.
“What hasn’t changed is the amount of energy and enthusiasm our team brings to each activity, along with their vast industry knowledge.
“Whether delivering training virtually, supporting emergency response and crisis management activity, or running courses at our centres, we combine our rich training heritage, our industry knowledge and state-of-the-art digital tools to offer a best-in-class experience.”
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TRANSFORMING GLOBAL TRAINING THROUGH VIRTUAL TOOLS
Virtual tools are transforming the way many of Petrofac’s training courses are delivered, and a recent increase in demand has led the company to add more classes to its 2020/2021 calendar.
Covering a range of topics from Offshore Safety Representatives and Offshore Installation Manager (OIM) Legislation, to Manual Handling and Workplace Competence, each remote course is live and led by highly experienced instructors, delivering the same content as would be the case in a physical classroom setting.
Barry Christie, Safety and Survival Manager said: “Virtual training enables us to bring people together, from different locations across the
training, no matter where they are based.
“Delivering the courses virtually means delegates have no need to travel, keeping costs down and saving time, while also lowering their impact on the environment. We have also reduced course durations, where possible, and passed on cost savings of up to 40% to our customers.
“Group messaging, voting and feedback are all being used, making the whole experience incredibly interactive. Plus the fact that classes can be recorded means that it’s easy to catch up and review at a later date if required.”
ACCESS TO TRAINING 24/7
With more people basing themselves at home, the demand for eLearning is growing
solutions is at the forefront of Petrofac’s approach. Through an expanded eLearning library Petrofac is enabling delegates to study at their own speed.
Petrofac’s Technology Solutions Operations Manager, Tiemen van der Linden explains hows his team has worked hard to make sure courses are learner-centric. “We enable participants to successfully achieve their training objectives virtually”, he explains.
“With more than 200 courses covering HSSE, technical training, engineering, construction, operations, maintenance and soft skills, Petrofac is making the virtual classroom a reality.
“Delivering digital content to any scope and in any language, we have also introduced further digital tools using simulation, animation, augmented and virtual reality to provide next generation learning.”
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These new technologies, combined with better infrastructure and Cloud computing, means we can offer really innovative solutions to let learners access information in a timely, independent and interactive manner.”
Tiemen van der Linden Technology Solutions Operations Manager
WORKFORCE COMPETENCY MANAGEMENT GOES DIGITAL
Designed to support the complex needs of the energy sector, the company’s fully integrated training management service brings together practical training, eLearning and supply chain management.
Underpinned by Petrofac’s own learning and competency management software suite,
the management, mapping and reporting of training and competency objectives.
SkillsVX has been developed to support industry regulatory requirements and meet the
offshore workforce. It enables the creation of training matrices and helps businesses co-ordinate the required mix of skills and competencies across their organisation and individual assets.
compliance, helping them stay ahead of their future training and competency needs. SkillsVX has so far, facilitated 100,000 users worldwide, enabling the delivery of 250,000 eLearning courses and the completion of 70,000 paperless assessments.
Michaela Nicholson, Training Management Services Manager said: “Our position as both a service company and a training provider means we have a unique understanding of the training, competency and compliance requirements of the industry.
“It’s thanks to the fact we have decades of experience that we can implement training solutions, underpinned by the latest technology, to effectively manage our clients’ workforce competency.”
RESPONDING TO A CRISIS IN A CRISIS
Petrofac has also been investing in new technologies to support effective emergency management.
Previously incident response teams would have mobilised to Petrofac’s 24/7 Emergency Response Service Centre (ERSC) in Aberdeen.
Graham Brown, Crisis and Response Manager said: “We have put in place additional measures to ensure our virtual response is as robust as the traditional method.
“There is functionality that replicates in-room verbal communications, and we can continue to log, share and track updates and tasks through our newly developed and fully interactive dashboards.”
With the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the
customers, however, there is still the option to utilise Petrofac’s ERSC for traditional response methods, with social distancing and stringent hygiene measures in place.
Graham added: “The entire team worked together to ensure the effectiveness of our virtual response capability and we spent weeks developing what we estimate to be three-years’ worth of enhancements.
“We’ve also supported a number of customers in rolling out the system within their own organisations and have been asked to participate in various industry exercises to prove its capability.
“It’s an exciting time as this virtual capability
We’re already generating new international work, demonstrating again that the standards we have set in the highly regulated UKCS,
internationally.”

Jill Ogilvie Customer Care and Business Development Manager