An oil and gas project manager who developed a mentoring scheme to share sector expertise has been recognised at a prestigious industry awards.
Shona Campbell, of Total E&P UK Limited, has been at the forefront of the Engineering and Construction Industry Training Board’s (ECITB) flagship mentoring scheme – the Oil and Gas Industry Project Management Mentoring Programme – since it was first set up four years ago.
In response to the call from industry, Shona volunteered to help develop the programme, which has so far benefited almost 50 participants, including four mentees she has mentored personally. Shona particularly enjoys mentoring first-time leaders, many of whom are working towards becoming chartered with professional bodies such as the Association for Project Management.
The programme allows qualified and experienced project practitioners to 'mentor-forward' year-on-year, and has attracted interest as a blueprint for other mentoring activities across the country as well as other project-driven parts of the engineering construction industry, such as nuclear decommissioning.
Shona said: “Like all the volunteer mentors, I invest my own time into the programme because I believe in growing the leaders of tomorrow. All the mentors have been amazed, inspired and humbled by the positive feedback from the mentees. The programme has surpassed all our expectations.”
Shona’s achievements saw her named as a finalist in the Mentor of the Year category at the prestigious Oil and Gas UK Awards, which were held at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre last Thursday, November 1.
A project manager experienced in oil industry construction projects in a range of areas, including operational, developmental, greenfield and brownfield, topside and subsea construction, as well as internal business-change initiatives, Shona was one of three finalists in the mentoring category. The award was won by Giuseppe Tizzano of BP.
Chris Claydon, Chief Executive of the ECITB, said: “Shona has put in a huge effort to develop the mentoring programme into the successful scheme it has now become. It’s a tremendous achievement to be named a finalist at these extremely competitive awards and shows the industry’s appreciation for her dedication and insightful work.
“The mentoring programme is an excellent example of industry putting aside commercial interests to co-operate for the benefit of the sector as a whole. Sharing learning and experience from delivery of oil and gas projects is vital to the future well-being of the oil and gas sector and this approach is highly transferable across other sectors.”
Evidence shows that while technical skills can be learned online or in a classroom, behavioural and leadership skills can be enhanced via mentoring so, in 2014, ECITB and the Offshore Project Management Steering Group (OPMSG) set up a pilot scheme to mentor 14 young oil and gas professionals from the Aberdeen area.
Following its success, a full programme was launched, the aim of which is “to impart good practice in project execution within oil and gas-related organisations, through knowledge-sharing and knowledge-transfer”.
Shona Campbell of Total E&P UK Limited