30-year-old Jamie Gray from Glasgow has swapped army life for an offshore career maintaining oil rigs thanks to AIS Survivex.
Following school, Jamie started a career as an electrician but quickly decided it wasn’t for him. Instead, he joined the British Army in the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineer division (R.E.M.E.) and spent the next four years building and maintaining all types of weaponry from small arms to tanks.
Due to an injury, Jamie was medically discharged and initially went into roadside mechanics. But after talking to a friend who worked offshore, Jamie set his sights on a career in oil and gas.
Jamie said:
“The lifestyle of working offshore really appealed. Working away from home and returning to spend quality time at home with the family mirrors army life and something I much prefer to conventional nine-to-five working.”
After getting basic offshore health and safety training under his belt, Jamie contacted a long list of recruiters and secured his first offshore position as a general assistant.
It was during this first offshore trip that he identified painting and blasting as the best offshore career route for him. The seasoned offshore pros he talked to recommended AIS Survivex for his additional training.
Jamie went on:
“I spent two weeks at AIS Survivex getting my IRATA Level 1 Rope Access and OPITO Level 1 Blaster Painter qualification.
“Within seven days of finishing my training, I landed a contract as a Rope Access Painter Blaster with Stork, achieving my goal. I’m delighted and can’t thank AIS Survivex enough for an amazing training experience.
“I’m used to going on training courses but AIS Survivex was another level. The instructors were fantastic and the equipment and facilities were excellent too. I also used the interest free finance option to pay for my courses. Interest free finance isn’t usually available from other training providers but it was great to have as a cushion while I looked for the right job.
“I’ve already recommended AIS Survivex to a number of friends and would tell anyone interested in an offshore career to go there. It’s simply amazing!”
Military to Wind
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New-Starter Packages
With North Sea workforce levels already bouncing back to pre-pandemic levels, and numbers set to rise by almost 10% by 2023 (ECITB Workforce Census) now could be the perfect time to start your new career…
To help you on your way we have introduced a host of oil & gas ‘new-starter’ greenhand packages, which provide all the mandatory entry-level certification required to set foot on an offshore installation.
Our packages represent savings of up to 40% off purchasing separately and are available from around £34 per month with 0% interest-free finance options!
Offshore Survival New-Starter Package (International & UK Waters)
Offshore Survival New-Starter Package (North Sea)
Offshore Maintenance New-Starter Package
Offshore Rigger New-Starter Package
Offshore Banksman Slinger New-Starter Package
Offshore Rope Access New-Starter Package
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