Safe and secured

They are 18 years old and have never been offshore. In a few weeks, they will start working as apprentices in the North Sea. But first: A three-week course with safety at its core.

"Stop! Check the strap there.

Does it look right?"

The instructor’s voice cuts through the sound of anchor chains on "Nøffen", the training rig at Nosefo utside Tau in Rogaland. Three young people wearing blue helmets stop halfway through the exercise. One bends down and inspects the fiber strap attached to a large, heavy metal case.

"You need to check it again. Remember – if in doubt, stop and ask."

The young apprentice nods and adjusts the strap before looking up at the instructor.

"Good! Everything is correct now. Continue."

"Clear!" shouts the apprentice, and the other two start to pull. The chain hoists slowly lift the case towards the ceiling.

For the young apprentices at Noble Drilling, this is more than an exercise. Over the course of just over three weeks, they will be put through an extensive training program before travelling offshore. They have two years of vocational high school behind them. The goal is a certificate in well technology and a career in the oil industry.

A rigger course is on today's agenda. The theory part has been completed, and now they must put their knowledge into practice. Much of the work the apprentices will be carrying out offshore will relate to lifting equipment.

"They will do this type of task hundreds of times over out on the rig, so it has to be second nature to them," says course leader Gunnar Vatnamot.

The training on the topside of the old Nordøst Frigg facility helps prepare the apprentices for what lies ahead.

"They take it very seriously, they have to. A mistake out there can cost lives, so we teach them from day one that there are no shortcuts when it comes to safety," says the experienced instructor.

High Norwegian standards

In a few weeks' time, the apprentices will take the plunge into working life. They will board the helicopter transporting them out into the North Sea, where they will work for 14 days straight, side by side with experienced offshore workers.

On the rig, they will work as deck hands, or roustabouts, for the first six months. After that, they will become floor hands, or roughnecks, for the following 18 months.

At Noble Drilling, the apprentices receive full training in the positions they will take on before travelling offshore. The list of required courses is lengthy:

• Basic safety course with helicopter capsize
• MOB (Man Overboard)
• Search and rescue team
• Heliguard - HLO (Helicopter Landing Officer)
• VHF
• G11 (Strapping course)
• G4 (Traverse crane)
• G20 (Fixed Hydraulic Crane)
• Winch course
• Rigger course
• Truck T1-T4

"The scope of the training provided in Norway through the school curriculum and the apprenticeship scheme, is worth its weight in gold. The expertise that these young people graduate with is top-notch internationally. They should be proud of that," says HR advisor Randi Mellegaard at Noble Drilling.

Into the oil business

Victor Hoff-Hansen is one of the apprentices on the training rig on this August day. The last few weeks have been demanding, with 11-12-hour shifts.

"We have had a lot of very educational courses. The rigger course was very good, and helicopter capsize and search and rescue were exciting," he says.

"Safety is at the backbone of everything we do. There are a lot of procedures and a strong HSE focus, so I feel safe."

For the 18-year-old, the pathway has felt natural. He grew up in an oil family where his father, grandfather and several uncles all worked offshore.

"They have only good things to say about it. That it’s a great profession.bThat has definitely influenced my career path," he says.

"I’m not the type to sit at a desk all day anyway. I prefer the practical side of things. The two weeks on and four weeks off rota is good too - and so is the pay."

Soon the mandatory training will be over, and working life will begin. The apprentices are divided amongst different rigs and shifts, and travel alone as the only apprentice in their own crew.

Tobias Løvik Hagen (18) is one of them.

"We'll probably grow up quickly. We have to. We haven’t done this before, but we'll be working with others who know the ob and who we can learn from. We won't be given individual responsibility right away but we'll be following experienced people closely. The most important thing is that the people are nice," he says.

The 18-year-old is glad he has chosen the oil business and points to the realities facing many young people:

"I have friends who took the academic route in high school and then didn't get accepted for their chosen university courses. Several of them ended up applying for vocational courses. So we have made a good choice."

We have learned that it is not about being finished as quickly as possible. Safety comes first.

Competing for skills

Whilst the apprentices prepare to take their first steps offshore, they are already part of an industry that is constantly competing to attract and retain qualified staff. The extensive training they have undergone is no coincidence. The list of required courses and certifications has grown over many years of increasing safety focus.

"Systematic training is the most important way to ensure that everyone gains the same expertise," says Øyvind Jonassen, Head of Offshore Safety at the Norwegian Shipowners' Association.

"At the same time, I cannot stress suffici-ently how important it is to invest in expertise beyond what is required by law."

He points to several examples of companies focusing on continuous skills development above and beyond the minimum requirements.

"We see some of them investing in comprehensive skills upgrades in barrier management, ranging from classroom teaching to simulators and practical exercises.

Other companies have chosen a more operational approach to knowledge sharing, where they take an experienced platform manager out of rotation to assist operations from land. In this way, that person can provide support and guidance on an ongoing basis and not least, see the big picture from a fresh perspective."

Jonassen points out that investing in expertise provides benefits for the entire rig industry, as employees often move between companies. Whilst this also makes employees more attractive to other employers, the benefits are nevertheless clear.

"There is no doubt that those companies that invest in expertise gain employees who feel a greater sense of loyalty to the company."

Right to stop

Back on the training rig, the metal box is placed safely back on the deck. The job is done, and the apprentices can go to lunch. But safety is about more than completing the task, the instructor emphasizes.

"It’s about everyone on the rig – from the apprentice to the platform manager – having the right and the duty to stop the job if something isn´t right. That is the most important message we convey to young people."

For Victor, this way of thinking has already become a habit. He has seen how thorough the planning must be:

"Sometimes it can take several hours to plan a job, to go through everything that could possibly go wrong and find measures to prevent it.
But we have learned that it is not about being finished as quickly as possible. Safety comes first," he states.

Read more articles from Dialogue no 2 - 2025: