Scotland’s Energy Minister has met with Skills Development Scotland staff involved in delivering the Transition Training Fund to thank them for their efforts.
Paul Wheelhouse visited the SDS centre in Aberdeen where he spoke with colleagues who have worked on the fund since its launch in 2016, and heard from some of the people supported through it.
Aimed at helping people facing redundancy from the oil and gas sector to retrain, improve their skills or get accreditation that would help them move into a new job, more than 3200 people have had applications to the fund approved.
Paul Wheelhouse, minister for business, innovation and energy, said: “Being able to respond flexibly to the individual circumstances of those applying to the Transition Training Fund has been hugely important.
“The tailored support and advice which has been given, for example to pick the right qualifications and training courses, has had a tremendous impact in terms of people’s ability to find work and also their confidence.”
Focus on clients
In addition to individual applications, hundreds of training opportunities focused on key sectors such as renewables and road haulage have been provided, and a route into a teaching career has been offered through the iSTEP programme.
Additional programmes such as Success Criteria, helping people communicate their skills and experience in a way that is relevant to future employers, and Springboard, aimed at people made redundant from management roles, also offer tailored support.
Diane Hill, Transition Training Fund Manager at SDS, said: “Designing and delivering the Transition Training Fund from scratch involved colleagues from right across the organisation, and it’s pleasing to see staff receive recognition for that hard work.
“At all times we’ve maintained a focus on the needs of clients, and our team of advisers in particular have played a key role in guiding individual applicants through the process and helping them reach positive outcomes at a very stressful time in their lives.
“A recent survey found that 89 per cent of customers were satisfied with their experience of using the fund, and that’s a testament to the dedication of SDS colleagues.”
Other opportunities
Among those to have been helped by the Transition Training Fund is Wendy Gray from Old Meldrum near Aberdeen.
A qualified Chartered Accountant, Wendy opted for a career change and is currently undertaking training in Pilates, with plans to launch her own business focusing on health and wellbeing.
She said: “I would absolutely recommend the Transition Training Fund to other people in my situation.
“There’s still a lot of worry in the industry, and only yesterday I was speaking to former colleagues telling them I was living proof that it’s not the end of the world and that there are other opportunities out there.”
