Ella Thomson - Modern Apprentice Instrument and Control Technician

Ella Thomson - Modern Apprentice Instrument and Control Technician
Ella Thomson

Ella Thomson (19) from Orkney, originally planned to go to university before she applied to Petrofac to become a Modern Apprentice Instrument and Control Technician.

She said: “Gaining this apprenticeship has unquestionably been the starting point of my future career. Personally, upon leaving school I was initially planning university, I then read about this apprenticeship opportunity and decided to apply. Choosing an apprenticeship has definitely been the best choice for me, as it offers a direct route with training to a career in an industry that interests me, and also allows you to get paid while you learn.

“I work with a group of other apprentices who are doing the same Instrumentation course, but for a variety of different oil and gas companies. I am currently on my second year of a four-year Instrumentation apprenticeship. The first two years are spent full-time at FVC, completing an NC and PEO2 (Performing Engineering Operations) in first year, then a HNC in Measurement and Control and POH (Process Operations: Hydrocarbons) in second year. During this time, the group of apprentices are provided accommodation in Falkirk. The third and fourth years of the apprenticeship are spent on placement on an assigned offshore or onshore asset of the oil and gas company that we are employed by.

“I am employed by Petrofac. Petrofac operates all over the world in areas such as the Middle East, Europe, Africa, North America and Asia. The company is a contracting company in the oil and gas industry, however in recent years it has been adapting to new energy sources, and aims to be net zero by 2030. My role as an instrument and control apprentice for Petrofac is to complete my initial courses at FVC, and then complete the second part the apprenticeship at Flotta oil terminal in Orkney after May, when I am finished my time at FVC.

“The modern apprenticeship program at FVC is well established. The college is clearly experienced in running apprenticeship programs such as the one I am doing. There is an assigned Apprenticeship Officer for my apprenticeship course, who is there to support you in the course and communicates with your employer company. For engineering courses, the facilities at the College allow for gaining experience of the actual equipment that I would be working on in industry. This definitely means that the apprenticeship programs offered from Forth Valley College are very attractive to young people looking to start out in their future careers.

“The facilities at FVC are invaluable to the course, especially in terms of the engineering courses. The Westfield Plant Training rig provides extremely helpful experience about the systems and equipment that we will come across, in our future roles as engineers in the oil and gas industry. From an instrumentation point of view, there is a range of real life, industry standard equipment and practice resources which simulate the instruments and devices that we will be using in our placements and future careers in industry. The workshops and practical resources are undoubtedly one of the biggest appeals of practical courses at FVC.

“The lecturers at FVC provide expertise about their subjects and in-depth knowledge about the systems that they work with. Many lecturers have industry experience. This means they can supplement their teaching with real life examples and stories, making it more interesting as a student and also increasing your understanding of not only what is being taught, but the industry that you are about to go into. In my opinion, the lecturers are probably the best resource available to you at FVC.

“I would definitely recommend an apprenticeship programme to people looking to get started out in any sort of engineering industry, as offers a direct route into the sector, and means you are employed while carrying out your training and getting paid to learn.

“In terms of apprenticeship programme which are offered, I believe FVC offers some of the best, due to the fact that the programs are well established, meaning there are a range of existing resources available to support you through your apprenticeship. There is also excellent industry standard, real-life examples of equipment or systems that are used for training and education during your apprenticeship, which sets FVC ahead, in terms of the experience the College can offer you.

“Personally, I have found the best bits of the apprenticeship experience so far to be achieving the different goals which make up the part of the apprenticeship which is done at FVC. Whether it was finishing all of the written reports and logs of the practical work which make up the PEO2, or completing the graded unit exam of the HNC, these successes and the achieving of these goals, after putting lots of work into them, have definitely been highlights of my time at FVC so far.

“My advice to potential students would be to definitely take any opportunity of an apprenticeship or pre-apprentice programe that you are offered, as in my opinion it is one of the best routes you can take into a future career.”