PGS says that it is continuing to put great effort into hiring talented and skilled staff; both new graduates and experienced professionals. The company also says that, of equal importance to attracting the right talent, is making sure its new recruits settle in and perform to their best as quickly as possible. PGS recognizes that sufficient training will give new employees a good start, and help them settle into their new role, but extensive training is also important in order to give new employees a personal feeling of being competent and comfortable with the work they are doing. PGS considers this to be both a performance and safety issue.



All new employees in PGS receive training when they join the company, however special attention is given to the offshore crews. The company operates a world-class seismic fleet, and considers that specialized training is required to help new hires settle in and perform at a high level in their new position on a technologically advanced vessel such as the Ramform Sovereign. All new hires that are going offshore therefore complete extensive training as part of their trainee period. The training helps them to do their work efficiently, focusing both on quality and safety onboard. Torgny Hallingstad, Training Manager for PGS offshore crews, emphasizes that part of the training starts even before the trainee has begun working for the company. “After a new hire has signed a contract with PGS, we invite him or her to go through a basic online training course to prepare for life onboard. This course answers a range of questions the new employee might have, from travel arrangements to washing machines onboard.”

State-of-the-art marine seismic training
To be able to deliver high quality training after new crew members get on to its vessels all over the world, PGS will offer onboard e-learning to all offshore trainees as part of a blended learning program called Marine Seismic Training (MAST). PGS says that, using new technology and innovative learning solutions, MAST will put the company in a leading role when it comes to competence development for offshore personnel. Elisabeth Hestnæs, the company’s Global Learning Manager, explains that blended learning means incorporating many different learning styles, and can be accomplished through the use of blended virtual and physical resources.

“Our blended learning program consists of both e-learning and structured on-the-job training”, says Hestnæs. “The e-learning will provide the trainees with essential theoretical knowledge, and on-the-job training will provide essential practical experience where the trainees can put their theoretical knowledge into good use”.

“The whole e-learning program is divided approximately 20 e-learning courses, with exams covering topics within seismic, navigation and mechanics,” says Hallingstad. These courses will be uploaded to servers on the vessels for the trainees to access. The e-learning system will provide trainees with accurate 3D models of the vessels, giving them a real feeling of the whole vessel, and helping them to take on different roles during their training. PGS says that seeing and understanding the different challenges onboard a vessel is essential to understanding how different crew member are dependent on each other.

Virtual reality vessel tours
Each e-learning course in MAST will start with an introduction and an overview of all the main equipment on board. By integrating a user-friendly menu, a 3D model of the vessel, and a virtual tour each time the trainee enters a new course, PGS expects to provide a vivid introduction of the vessel. During the course of the training, trainees will always have access to the 3D-model to help them relate the learning content to the appropriate location on the vessel. To make it even more accurate, the courses will include relevant photographs and short videos of the working environment.

The creators of the program recognize
that extensive use of media, including text, illustrations, photos, music, speech, animations and simulation will engage and motivate the trainee. “The layout of the e-learning courses is designed in close cooperation with subject matter experts in PGS to make the virtual presentation as real as possible,” says Hallingstad.

In addition to technical training, the e-learning courses will focus on Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) onboard. Each module will include an example of a relevant unwanted incident or best practice to give a trainee an understanding of how each person onboard can make a difference.

The e-learning program will finish with an exam based on the topics covered in the course. The results will be tracked, and to pass the exam a trainee will need to correctly answer 80% of the questions. A passed exam will give a trainee the internal certification needed to continue working onboard PGS seismic vessels.

There is no exam for the equally important on-the-job training part of MAST. Instead each trainee will be given a checklist for their Department chief to sign off, confirming that the trainee has actually completed each part of the on-the-job training. A summary of the information learned through the MAST courses will be readily available in a small MAST handbook given to each trainee, in case they want to brush up some of their basic knowledge in the old fashioned way.

Training for all new employees
Elisabeth Hestnæs emphasizes that, while the MAST project is particularly impressive, specialist training at PGS is not limited just to its offshore crews. The company offers general introductory training for all new employees and provides specialized training for new hires in other specific units. For example, the company’s Data Processing and Reservoir units also offer tailored training for all new employees. “In addition, we offer 50 skills development courses covering a wide range of topics such as project management, finance, sales and communication; Microsoft office applications; an online new employee training module called “The PGS Journey” and location-specific induction courses for all new employees starting in PGS,” explains Hestnæs. She considers the PGS Journey to be particularly impressive as it takes form of a game in which the new employee visits several PGS offices to get to know the whole company. The online e-learning journey gives an introduction to PGS, explains the Marine, Data Processing and Onshore business activities, the company's core values, what is expected of employees and the benefits of working for PGS. To really emphasize that PGS is a technology company, all training activities for employees—not only new employee introductions—are published in a Learning Management System (LMS) to make them easily accessible by all employees. PGS employees can find the LMS on the PGS intranet, and new employees are invited to the site to get an overview of opportunities.

Thinking out of the box
PGS says that its focus on the development of new employees and the implementation of the MAST training program gives a good picture of the way the company runs its business: thinking out of the box, challenging established truths and trying out new ideas that make more commercial sense than the old ones. “To get ahead of the crowd, you’ve got to be willing to step out of the main stream and find new answers,” says Hestnæs.

---

By: PGS recruitment Special