Scottish expertise to support Chinese oil and gas workforce
A Scottish company has been selected to help train the next generation of China’s oil and gas workers, First Minister Alex Salmond has announced today.
Quality Qualifications International (QQI), the international division of Ayr-based JB Management, has signed an agreement with Shandong Chamber of Commerce for Petroleum (CCIOC) which will see them deliver training and development in CCIOC’s training college in Dongying, the oil and gas capital of Shandong Province.
Mr Salmond announced the agreement during his visit to Shandong, where he is leading a trade delegation along with Scottish Development International (SDI) chief executive Anne MacColl, in the latest leg of the First Minister’s visit to China.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between Bill Ure, Managing Director, QQI and Mr Xie Chuan Li, chief secretary, CCOIC.
QQI, which currently employs 20 people in Scotland, expects the agreement to boost the company’s wider ambitions to increase annual turnover to over £2 million over the next three years.
Dongying, which is Shandong’s main city, has 40 years experience in oil field technology and is host to China’s second largest oilfield. The city’s oil and gas workforce has high levels of staffing requirements and a new oil and gas training centre is currently under development.
QQI was introduced to the chamber through SDI in November 2011, following a mission to Shandong in 2010, led by Mark Newlands, head of SDI’s education sector. The organisations were matched together to discuss a potential collaboration and subsequent discussions have led to the development of the MOU.
The First Minister said: “This is great news for a Scottish company and for Scotland overall. The agreement will see valuable knowledge of our oil and gas technology being shared with CCIOC training college and is a clear demonstration of the strong links which continue to grow between ourselves and Shandong Province. The challenges of growing today’s economy mean that we should be open to opportunities to share our wealth of knowledge in key areas such as this and follows hard on the heels of EMEC’s contract to work with the Ocean University of China, which I announced while in Shandong. There is huge potential for Scotland and China to work together in knowledge transfer across a range of industrial sectors.”
As a result of the agreement, QQI will train a number of China-based trainers in relevant SQA subjects, develop and deliver a two year training course and organise a reciprocal visit programme to explore all opportunities for mutual co-operation.
Bill Ure, Managing Director, QQI said:“QQI are very pleased to sign our first MOU in China which reinforces our belief that there are real opportunities in the area of high level training which can be developed with our Chinese partners. We hope to welcome them to Scotland in the Spring to further cement our relationship and to explore new and exciting initiatives between our organisations.
“I have been delighted by the support provided to QQI by SDI in accessing the Chinese market and in general with our international ambitions. We have new business opportunities coming from China and other markets which bode well for the future of QQI.”
Anne MacColl, chief executive of SDI, said: “This is a significant development for QQI and we expect the business to grow and develop. The MOU further reinforces Scotland’s commitment to working with CCIOC and builds on our strong relationship with Shandong Province. We ran a very successful trade mission to this region in 2010 and CCIOC undertakes regular visits to Aberdeen.
“China represents a huge opportunity for a number of Scotland’s sectors including education, energy, food and drink, and financial services. SDI is committed to helping companies access new global markets and we introduced QQI to CCIOC as we felt the team had the experience and expertise in the oil and gas industry to deliver qualifications to the sector in China. We’re also working with the QQI team to develop existing and new opportunities in the Middle East and Asia.”
JB Management, and its international arm QQI, is an accredited training provider with more than 15 years experience. It delivers qualifications in a diverse range of subjects to organisations and individuals throughout UK and abroad, including major modern apprenticeships for Skills Development Scotland.