If your people are your greatest asset, then training and competency support could be the most valuable investment you'll ever make.

Wood Group company M&O is a world leader in helicopter underwater escape training (HUET), and pioneered the use of portable HUET training simulators.

As oil and gas producers strive to maximise output and move into new markets, training, competency and safety have become ever more important.

Recognising this growing requirement, Wood Group has strengthened the support it offers the industry, with enhanced training and competency services. Providing training across six continents, our companies deliver flexible local training solutions and nationalisation programmes wherever and whenever they are required. Key components of our training offering are delivered through sister companies M&O and ODL.

Since being acquired by Wood Group last year, M&O has significantly expanded its safety and emergency response training services offering. M&O now operates from bases in West Africa, the Middle East, the Caspian and Asia-Pacific, and has new operations in North America and North Africa.

Terry Mair, director, Wood Group Production Facilities and M&O chairman, says that as an OPITO-accredited course provider, the appetite for safety training courses in North Africa in particular has seen M&O expand over recent months. "Our new OPITO Standard Training Centres are now operating in Sfax, Tunisia; Tripoli in Libya, as well as Cairo, Egypt. Our ability to offer countries in North Africa first access to international standard safety training gives us an edge in this marketplace."

Indeed, Terry says it's M&O's ability to provide mobile safety training solutions in remote locations that has allowed the company to bring international training standards to many of the world's emerging markets, such as Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

M&O's move into Louisiana further illustrates their expansion. "The Gulf of Mexico is potentially a huge market for us," confirms Terry. "While a mature oil and gas region, it's only recently that large multinationals are progressing toward OPITO safety training standards in the Gulf."

Andrew Maffett, chief operating officer of M&O, confirms, "Now that we have the support of Wood Group's international infrastructure and strong customer relationships, we are able to push into other locations we've wanted to serve for some time."

Kazakhstan is one of the most important markets for the group's training services, with three centres now operational in Atyrau, Bautino and Aktau. Andrew explains: "Atyrau is the largest facility in the M&O group, regularly conducting up to 12 courses per day for all operators and contractors in Kazakhstan. With a staff of 130 personnel, facilities are first-rate, providing a swimming pool, marine safety training facilities and a fire training ground.

"In Kazakhstan we have also expanded our services beyond training to include an MSA-approved breathing apparatus service centre and offshore manning contracts."

M&O has training course categories covering offshore safety, fire fighting, maritime safety, industrial skills and major emergency management. "Additional products available from M&O include TrainStation™ mobile onsite training services, where we come to the client, and MOST™ (Mobile Offshore Safety Training) portable training centres that can be fully set up and on a client's site within weeks," adds Andrew.

The MOST Mobile Offshore Training centres bring world-class, accredited emergency response training to customers' remote work sites worldwide.

To reach its objective to provide training services to all service operators and contractors through global service contracts, the organisation will continue to widen its services. A recent addition is Risktec, an international emergency management training and consultancy services company to the oil & gas industry that uses specially designed process simulation software and customised scenario training. It has specific experience in emergency response, management and safety-critical operations.

"Our expansion efforts are also product-based," says Andrew. "We're putting together a package of training for the renewables industry. This will comply with the British Wind Energy Association Safety Training Standards and will be available imminently, alongside nationally accredited industrial skills training."

Competency assurance is another important requirement in the oil and gas industry; and that's where ODL underlines its position as a world leader servicing the process and maintenance sectors. John Singer, head of training and competence services, says the call-off contract with BP to supply assessors is just one example of multinationals ensuring they have a standardised level of performance across their assets.

"We design and develop competence systems for production operations, maintenance operations and supervision. We also produce the assessment materials and supply assessors and verifiers," explains John.

John says the industry has recognised that competency assurance makes great business sense. "Competency assurance programmes can provide real cost savings. They allow you to identify gaps in knowledge and skills and improve the effectiveness of facilities."

One such example is our maintenance contract to maintain assets for BP in Trinidad, where ODL provides the competency programme. "The contract with BP brought a variety of vendor contracts under one Wood Group umbrella and we were required to manage competence and develop employees. Through our programme, staff gained relevant vocational qualifications from an internationally recognised body, the SQA (Scottish Qualifications Authority), which provides a consistent approach and optimised working practices."

Along with the business case for continuing to develop training and competency pro-grammes, there is now a cultural necessity, too. As Andrew Maffett explains: "Ten years ago safety training was optional; now it's not. As producers push into new regions, they're looking for world-class training companies to support their operations. That's where we come in."