Caspian technical training centre provides enhanced programme to Azeri recruits

Taking the technical training curriculum outside the classroom, we developed an enhanced practical and immersive concept that operates in many centres worldwide today.

From the outset, we determined the project’s assets, learner styles and levels of technical ability in the existing national workforce. The centre had unique training facilities tailored to these requirements:

• An experiential learning simulator with a drilling control room to train drillers to safely and efficiently operate the modern drilling equipment on the new platforms in the Caspian
• A unique operations pilot plant fitted with company equipment extensively used within the oil and gas industry provided technicians with complete start up and operations experience in a safe environment
• A large and fully equipped operations and maintenance workshop

Building the future workforce

The CTTC was one of the first training facilities to provide its students with a comprehensive technical training programme that reduced their time to autonomy at the worksite.

We provided the essential foundations for a career in the oil and gas industry for more than 450 locally recruited Azeri staff yearly, including:

• Mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and process operations training
• Technical and English language training to multiple levels
• Safety, HSE, IT, business behaviours and ethics principles

The centre was instrumental in enabling BP to meet its nationalisation objectives and at the time of our exit 85% of the national technician workforce working within BP Azerbaijan were graduates from the CTTC.

Doubling the expected project life of the training centre

The initial estimated five-year lifespan of the CTTC, which opened in 2004, was more than doubled due to our involvement and the increasing demand for trained technicians due to major projects and exploration success at the time.