Fugro Academy training centre opens in Plymouth, UK

The official opening of the Fugro Academy Training Centre by Plymouth’s Lord Mayor, Cllr Dr John Mahony, took place on 3 November 2015 at Turnchapel Wharf, Plymouth, UK, part of the former home of 539 Royal Marines Assault Squadron.

The Fugro Academy Training Centre comprises offices, training suites, engineering workshops, a café and recreation space, with access to Fugro’s two training vessels moored in Cattewater, where the mouth of the river Plym merges with Plymouth Sound, immediately outside the training centre building. Four training staff will be permanently based onsite at the Turnchapel Wharf facility, which can take up to 50 members of staff at any one time. Every year hundreds of Fugro staff from home and overseas are expected to visit the centre in the ‘Ocean City’, a key marine industry hub.

The Fugro Academy was created in 2006 as a global group-wide standardised training initiative to support recruitment and staff development. It provides office-based and field staff with both instructor-led practical courses and online hosted e-learning modules on a variety of technical, HSE and business-related topics. By mid-2015 the Fugro Academy had presented over 1350 trainer-led courses, training more than 9800 staff from within the 70 countries in which Fugro has a presence.

In 2013, due to steadily increasing internal demand, Fugro decided to trial the concept of a permanent training centre at a company facility in Cornwall, UK. With survey technical trainers, two 8 m survey launches and a large pool of modern offshore surveying equipment, the possibilities offered by a permanent facility were quickly recognised.

“Once we had proved that the concept of a training centre was both viable and an asset to the company, it was decided to create a larger more purpose-built facility,” explained Survey Division Training Manager, Wayne Reynolds. “After an extensive search, the site in Turnchapel was identified and we are delighted to officially open this facility today. Plymouth was as an obvious choice since it is regarded as a centre of excellence in the hydrographic surveying community. The Training Centre’s coastal location was an important factor, together with Fugro’s close ties with Plymouth University, and an abundance of local specialist equipment suppliers.”

Edited from press release by Angharad Lock

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/project-news/04112015/fugro-academy-training-centre-opens-in-plymouth-uk-1549/