TSA Insight Magazine Issue 7 - Magazine - Page 15
APPRENTICESHIPS
I N T H E O PA
We are very impressed
by their progress and
the stardard of their
performance
he Oil and Pipelines Agency manages eight COMAH regulated assets for MOD, including six
T
Naval Oil Fuel Depots.
Our main reasons to introduce an Apprenticeship Programme are:
• The Apprenticeship Levy.
•
Low staff turnover, with ageing demographics at all the Depots.
•
Recruiting challenges in most Depots due to remote locations.
The OPA launched their Craft Apprenticeships in 2018. Three existing Operators expressed an interest
and were accepted which did not affect the number of new apprentices on the formal programme. The
OPA recruited four Mechanical Technician Apprentices and one Electrical Technician Apprentice on the
programme. One Apprentice dropped out within the first two weeks but we were able to fill the position
again in a short space of time.
The OPA wanted to introduce an Operator Apprenticeship but no relevant programmes were available. The
OPA sought the support of the TSA, Reynolds Training and Cogent to develop an accredited programme
and the first course commenced in September 2019. Three Apprentices started with the OPA in June
2019, which allowed them to spend a few months being embedding into the OPA before they attended
the course at the CATCH facility in Grimsby. The process enabled the Apprentices to complete their site
inductions and become a part of the Depot Team.
The Apprentices are actively supported by our Competency Assurance Manager and Operations
Management. We are very impressed with their progress and the standard of their performance.
The benefits:
1.
Moulding our future workforce to meet our business needs to a high standard.
2.
A solution to ageing demographics; part of our succession planning.
3.
Addressing our recruitment challenges in remote locations.
4.
Better positioned to succeed in our transition from “analogue” to “digital” operations; we have people
willing to embrace new technology being implemented. Improved performance.
5.
Positive changes to our culture in the Depots.
6.
Increased employee engagement; demonstrating we are serious about investing in people and that
we do value our employees.
The courses have been a positive experience for all the Apprentices and we have
just launched our recruitment for three more Operator Apprentices and an EC&I
Craft Apprentice.
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