Member Article

Tyneside energy company wins £200m contracts over next 5 years

Wood Group Industrial Services Limited (WGIS), part of the international energy services company, John Wood Group Plc, recently secured a number of new long term contracts worth in excess of £200m over the next five years.

These contract awards are multiple year, industrial services agreements with Babcock International, Valero Energy Corporation and Shell.

The Babcock deal includes all their major UK dockyard facilities. The contract with Valero Energy Corporation is based in South Wales. The agreement with Shell includes their St Fergus gas processing plant in Aberdeenshire, the Mossmorran gas processing plant and Braefoot Bay marine terminal both based in Fife and a new gas terminal in Corrib, Ireland.

WGIS delivers surface preparation, application of protective coatings, scaffolding, insulation, rope access, cleaning and fire sentry services to industries including the rail, offshore energy, marine, utility, nuclear, chemical and process sectors.

Now, the Tyneside firm has expanded its accounting apprenticeship programme with Gateshead-based Access Training to support the £200m contract wins.

Management accountant at WGIS, Mark Hudson, who himself started his career as an accounts apprentice with Access Training, said: “These significant contract wins are amongst several high profile contracts the company is currently working on, including being the main painting contractor on the two new Royal Navy aircraft carriers currently under construction in Rosyth.

“We realised we needed more support within our finance team so we have been working with Access Training to successfully recruit and develop accounting apprentices. We now employ four and all of them have really impressed us and have all been taken on permanently before the end of their probationary periods.”

The latest recruit is Ryan Hamilton, 21, from Newcastle, who is employed as an accounts payable assistant. He joins three other apprentices in WGIS’s finance team – Emma Smith, Shannon Gibson and Bethanie Brown. All of whom are working towards their AAT qualifications with Access Training.

Access Training is an award winning training provider with offices in Gateshead, Newcastle and Chester-le-Street and has helped over 5,000 people start and develop their careers. It offers apprenticeships at intermediate, advanced and higher levels in a wide range of occupational areas.

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