MEMBER NEWS: New director takes the helm at OPITO

June 8, 2023
MEMBER NEWS: New director takes the helm at OPITO

OPITO, the global safety and skills body for the energy industry, has announced the appointment of Lisa McKay as Director of People and Corporate Services in a new role designed to provide strategic direction for all people-related initiatives.

Lisa, a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD), joined OPITO in 2021 following a 20-year career in operational human resources management and organisational development. Her wide-ranging experience spans energy, higher education and the third sector.

Lisa’s promotion means that in addition to overseeing people and organisational development, she will now be responsible for Corporate Services and Modern Apprenticeships. This includes the OGTAP apprenticeship programme which has launched the careers of more than 2,000 technical apprentices since launching in 1999.

Lisa McKay, Director of People and Corporate Services, said: “I am delighted to be joining the OPITO Leadership Team and taking on these new areas of responsibility. Having been part of OPITO for the last two years, I know first-hand the important work we do supporting everchanging needs of industry.”

Women currently represent 63% of OPITO’s workforce. With approximately 40% in middle management and leadership roles, OPITO’s demographic is aligned to the POWERful Women initiative, based at the Energy Institute, which is calling for this target to be achieved by 2030 to address the underrepresentation of women at the top of the UK energy industry and in the leadership pipeline.

John McDonald, OPITO CEO, said: “OPITO is proud to have been at the forefront of the energy sector’s workforce development for more than 50 years. People are at the very heart of what we do and promoting Lisa into this new position is testament to that.

“The energy transition represents a significant transformation for our industry. Attracting and retaining an agile and diverse talent pool that can serve the whole offshore energy sector is critical to meet our net zero ambitions.

“There’s no doubt that there’s further work to do to ensure that the workforce better reflects society. As we support industry on this journey, our own organisation is learning and evolving alongside to build a culture that motivates, inspires and empowers our people.”

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AREG has played an important role in the growth of Scotland’s renewable energy sector, engaging the supply chain and developing the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. However, we are only at the very beginning of the transition that AREG was established to both lead and support so there are still opportunities for companies to get into the constantly evolving renewables supply chain. We look forward to continuing our work together as renewables builds on its place as Scotland’s main source of power, and as we seek to deliver real change in the crucial areas of heat and transport.

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Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce has worked closely with AREG since its formation. The recent progress in the developments of offshore wind projects by Equinor and Vattenfall are as a result of the work of the group over many years. The north-east is known as the oil and gas capital of Europe. At the Chamber, we believe the region must evolve its position to being recognised as the energy capital. Whilst hydrocarbons will continue to be essential in driving our economy for years to come, the generation of renewable resources will play an increasingly important role in providing cost-effective power, innovative development and economic growth.

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Aberdeen City and Shire is emerging as a key location for renewables by successfully transferring its world-class oil and gas expertise into the sector and AREG has done much to advance this through a broad range of initiatives. It has acted as a catalyst in driving further investment in the local economy by engaging with companies, Government, public bodies and existing projects and we have been pleased to support their efforts. Scottish Enterprise will continue to engage with AREG as we increase Scotland’s use of renewable energy.

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