Amy Henderson - OGTAP Apprentice

Amy H Snippet

Amy is from Kennoway, Fife, and after completing the four-year Oil and Gas Technical Apprenticeship Programme (OGTAP) with Shell has gone on to work as an instrument technician onshore at the Shell operated Fife Natural Gas Liquids (FNGL) Mossmorran Fractionation Plant near Cowdenbeath.

OPITO champions a prosperous and thriving engineering industry with a strong skills base to safeguard its future and contribute to the UK’s economy. It manages OGTAP in partnership with the Engineering and Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) with these aims in mind.

OGTAP is helping to bridge both the skills and gender gaps in the industry, bolstering engineering and technical roles, which according to research by Engineering UK are highly in demand with an additional 1.8 million personnel required up to 2025.

Recently graduated instrumentation and control technician Amy, 21, said: “My older brother completed the OGTAP apprenticeship as an electrical technician. He recommended the programme to me but said I might find instrumentation was more suited to me – he was right.

“I hadn’t done anything relating to engineering whilst I was at school except sciences and I had never heard of instrumentation so I thought it (OGTAP) would allow me to learn something new and would be different from an ordinary office job. I thought it would be a reliable job with a good income.

“My role includes carrying out planned routine maintenance and corrective maintenance on instrumentation equipment. I like how every day can be different and you are always learning something new.

“I think so many girls do not choose to study or work in engineering because it’s often seen as a ‘man’s job’ and not very appealing to many females. This could be because it’s most likely they will have a majority of male colleagues but I have not found this an issue as I am treated as an equal.”

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