Hi,

I've decided on a change of career and handed in my notice with the forces. I'm looking to go offshore and have about 11 months now to sort out my life and get some qualifications under my belt.

Just looking for a bit of advice/point in the right direction. Especially when i can get extra money off the Army if the course i choose is a level 3 NVQ or above. Seems that level 3 or above needs previous experience though....??

I've a good idea of what job's are available on the rigs but want to make sure i land up in a job that has good prospects for promotion and longevity.

Any comments welcome.

Cheers,
Doug.

You don't always need qualifications to get a job offshore. I'm living testament to that....

And it's not a cleaners job I've got either!!

Offshore industry is screaming out for people with the right attitude to learn at the moment. So much so that AMEC have just taken on 150 Fillipino's to work the Buzzard platform off the coast of Peterhead because they can't get any interest from UK resources.

Worth bearing in mind....

Also worth remembering that there are boats available as well as rigs. Widens your possibilities a bit further. Hope this helps a bit.

Well i've got around £3k to spend on education/courses from the Army for resettlement and plan to use it to its full. Just on what exactly is the question....Maybe a few call's to companies will prove worthwhile....

The best job offshore is a Production Techs job. :D (i may be biased)

NVQ Level 3 in process operations is one of the qualifications i have under my belt. I was taken on by one of the major companies who put me through a Modern Apprenticeship so have a City & Guilds certificate and HNC (amongst other things) to back up the NVQ.

Shell have just gone through a large recruitment drive as have BP. Chevron have also been holding interviews recently looking for staff to man their Captain platform. Like Steve says, the contract companies are always a good bet too, AMEC, Petrofac and Wood Group are names to listen out for. That said, i've heard the package is so bad on the Buzzard i'm not surprised they're employing Philipinos to go work there. :eek:

Then there's the services (Cape) and catering (Aramark amongst others) side of things to look into. It's a whole different world offshore but the most important thing is to get into something you're going to be happy doing for the next 5, 10 maybe 15 years. If travelling's your thing work on a DSV (Dive Support Vessel) may prove to be more rewarding.

IIRC Offshore Europe (held in Aberdeen anually) has passed this year but it'd be worth popping along next year to get a feel for things and see what interests you.

Lesson # 1:

Oil Rig = a drilling rig be it semi-submersible, jack-up, etc... (drills holes in the sea and generally doesn't find much these days)
Oil Platform = fixed installation production platform, usually bolted to the sea bed to produce the reserves from the reservoir beneath (keeps Britain going)

(again, i may be biased) :D

I only feel it's worth pointing that out as it was a girl that pointed it out to me the week before i went offshore... :o

lots of old marines are now rope access techs offshore.......

costs about £1k to get ropes ticket and a descent MPI + DPI/UT ticket to start offshore as a NDT tech.

Production is a good start i am in the middle of doing my NVQ level 3 with shell, I was told that they may undertaking another recruitment drive in october, money is pretty good as is the potential to go further.:)

So, production seems the way ahead. Whats involved in the job? And whats the pay packet like?

Job involves maintain process equipement operating the equipment and basically responsible for production figures, maintaining production targets.

getting paid to prevent profit loss lol

money is good starting salary at job group 7 is £45k

Anyone have any info on instrument technician jobs offshore i.e what type of work they do etc??

Job involves maintain process equipement operating the equipment and basically responsible for production figures, maintaining production targets.

getting paid to prevent profit loss lol

money is good starting salary at job group 7 is £45k

Did you go into that unqualified? What tickets did you need? Are you 2 on 2 off? Sorry for the Q's but i'm trying to do my homework before i change my life...:D

Anyone in aberdeen that can put me in touch with the right person for leaving the forces and going offshore, give us a shout....:thumb:

Rumour has it Shell are about to start recruiting again...

at the moment it is 2on ,2off,2on ,2off ,2on,2off2 on,6 off but that is soon to change to 2 on 2 off 2 on 4 off more time off.

yeah shell are starting a recruitment drive on october.

Ah well, looks like i have something to look into then....:thumb:

Are shell doing a recruitment drive for all trades??

I am an offshore team leader with a major player in the oil and gas game and see the standard of CV's coming through for jobs that are posted.
There is currently a large skill shortage offshore at the moment which makes this an ideal time for anyone who fancies giving it a go.
Most of the operators have lost a lot of trades to places like Baku and Angola, Especially the young lads interested in the big bucks .
So if youre serious contact people like OPITO and get yourselves some basic certs this should set you in good stead to be taken on if not by the Big boys then some of the smaller firms that will help you on the first step.

Good Luck

I got a start for Amec comissioning the new Britsats platform, they put me through my survival etc. they can't get enough tradesmen.

I love working in the Drilling Industry!!!

Composite Energy rocks!!
























Thanks again for the payrise Gordon;)

How about some links to websites from the guys in the know?

No one's mentioned the courses even the unqualified people need. Like the 'crash the helicopter into the sea' one, whatever it's called.

Costs about £400 as far as I remember so worth having.


Dave

£600 for the BOSIET covers UK waters only (3days)

£960 for the universal (5days)

and £50 for a medical.

you should contact RGiT Montrose if interested.

Survival Training (http://www.rgitmontrose.com/training/SurvivalTraining.htm)

decided to be a dope on a rope and get myself on a rt's course. Being done with a company called Safety On Site and its a 4 week course. 2 weeks in Falkirk and 2 in Aberdeen. Includes level 1 roping, ndt liquid and non-pen., and a few other bits and bobs. 8 tickets in all and is costing me around 4.5-5k. Half being paid by the army.Thoughts?

You know my thoughts. :D

good lad hope u get a start

to be an instrument tech u need to be realy clever lol

that what i am and i did an apprenticeship i work with petrofac on the Murchison 2 weeks on 3off and not far short of 50k when fully trained best job on the platform but carl may disagree all i know is the operators on my platform have to work to hard.

anyway hows it going?? what platform u on now and who with??

Hi Ciaran, i'm still on the Bruce but am being trained as a CRT now. :) The trades definitely seem to have it easier than the Ops Techs but i may be biased. I'm sure our sparks just rotate around the teapoints for 12 hours at a time. :D

CRT???
control room t?????

electricians on here are the same their stuff never seems to break!!

still not got myself a scoob got to buy a house first according to the girlfriend!!

Hi Ciaran, i'm still on the Bruce but am being trained as a CRT now. :)

Hi Carl - is this why Bruce keeps tripping;)

Lol Kevin, i only got home last Wednesday after a hell of a week. So yes, i was there during all that palava. :o :D Just our luck that everything we were waiting to go wrong did go wrong... at once! Thankfully we were back exporting 17MMcm/d by the time the chopper lifted. :)

Hey there Dude's

Working with SubSea7. Senior Tech for the Trench and Lay Dept.
Mainly involved with pipe/cable laying operations from Horizontal and Vertical Lay spreads.
Used to work for Technip and was part of the group of tech's that looked after the Deep Blue's kit.
Anyone else on here for SS7 ot T nip????

Carl, hows things with you?
Was checking up on you via the "Carl diary". some nice work been done on the Version 2 Fridge;)

Jamie, email coming up mate. Aye, i'm loving the Fridge V2. :cool:

I am with sperry and i am a trainee MWD/LWD Engineer. Done all my survival opito/olf survival and basic bp rgit courses too. Working alongside with DD's and loggers. Certainly a new experience for me!

Hi peeps,

Any Offshore jobs going lol??????????