We are raising offshore safety standards by becoming the first in the world to offer a revised fireproofing qualification approved by the oil and gas industry!
The three-day OPITO (the oil and gas industry’s training body) fireproofing course, trains workers in how to apply passive fire protection (PFP) to offshore structures. PFP protects steelwork from the extreme heat generated by a hydrocarbon fire and is a statutory safety-critical requirement for offshore assets.
OPITO introduced the revised stand-alone standard following calls from the oil and gas industry to have a multi-disciplined workforce.
AIS is the first training provider worldwide to offer this newly revised course, which includes both theoretical and practical sessions, and is already experiencing high demand for places from people wanting to work or currently working as offshore fireproofers.
Global paints and coatings company, AkzoNobel, which manufactures the industry-specified PFP product Chartek, has welcomed the news.
Brent Tyson, AkzoNobel’s fire protection sales manager for Northern Europe said: “Offshore fireproofing is a specialised safety-critical skill that requires intensive training. We fully support the introduction of this OPITO standard, which will boost competency levels across the oil and gas industry, and welcome the involvement of high-quality industry training centres such as AIS.”
Mark Patterson, business development manager here at AIS, said: “It’s fantastic to receive the coveted OPITO approval for our fireproofing course. Fireproofing is always a skill very much in demand offshore and we are anticipating our course to be very popular as a result. Previously people would have had manufacturer or project-based training in how to apply PFP products to offshore structures but this course now provides an additional training pathway to competency for the oil and gas industry.
“It’s the only one of its type available anywhere in the world and will put AIS and the North East on the global map for offshore skills. As well as boosting the North East economy by bringing delegates in from all over the world, this clearly positions AIS as leading the way in skills and competency training.”
OPITO fireproofing is the latest course to be added to our portfolio. We deliver more than 120 industry-approved courses to 17,500 delegates from all over the world annually at our £10m state-of-the-art offshore training village in North Shields.
For more information on the wide range of industrial training courses available here or to find out more about working in the offshore sector please contact us on 0844 800 1810. You can also sign up to our career mapper service to plan your dream career via http://training.aisgroup.co.uk/build-your-career/register.
