MIIN Member Spotlight - Errigal Training Centre

[Transcribed]

Introduce yourself and the organisation. What is your role and focus area?

Hello, my name is Frankie, I come from a company called Errigal Training. We're a training provider based in Falcarragh, Co. Donegal.

We do GWO training, GWO is Global Wind Organisation training, so we do courses for onshore and offshore. We also provide industry medicals for anybody that wants to work in the wind energy sector.

For people looking to get into the sector to work onshore, there are four courses required: Manual Handling, Fire Awareness, First Aid, and Working at Height and if you want to further your career and work offshore as well, you come along to us and you can do the sea survival training as well.

At our company, I am a director of the company, the company was set up two weeks before COVID, which gave us a good bit of time to adapt our training centre. It's a very professional training centre, it's state-of-the-art, we have all the equipment there and the training that is carried out there is very realistic.

Why did you choose to work in the marine industry?

So my background, or sort of going before my background, my father used to work for the Dutch Merchant Navy, my father came from Holland, and then he went on to work in supply boats and he would come and we would always talk, I was only a little nipper, so we would just talk and I was just fascinated by his stories.

Then, the chance came up one time for me to work on an oil rig. So I went away and did a course and I've spent the last 30 years offshore in oil and gas.

Then I came up with an idea about setting up a training centre and that's basically how I got into the offshore marine industry was sort of through my father, and having spent thirty years in it.

What is your organisation's unique selling point? Are you developing any new products or innovations?

We're dedicated GWO, we just do GWO courses at present.

We are running more and more courses GWO courses, an example is Advanced Rescue, Enhanced First Aid, Slinger Signaller, B.T.T., we have most of that equipment here now, we are just waiting to get an accreditation from the Global Wind Organisation and we will be starting to do those courses shortly.

In our training centre, what we hope to do very shortly as well is the BOSIET course which is run by OPITO. We're gearing it towards Oil & Gas because a lot of companies are asking us for the use of the helicopter simulator.

In our centre we have a helicopter simulator and it goes into our pool, turns upside-down and people need to escape from it. It's one of these training courses that we are going to put on as well, so everything is very unique in what we do, being able to offer all the stuff for the GWO.

What do you seee as the biggest opportunity for your company as part of Ireland's Marine Industry in the coming 5-10 years?

For ourselves, I think it's going to be growth that's our biggest opportunity. We have been talking to a lot of the clusters and organisations around Ireland. Yourselves (MIIN) for example, NIMO in Northern Ireland, Killbegs Marine Cluster here.

The opportunities are going to be big with all the companies that are coming into Ireland to work in the wind energy sector and to develop our offshore wind energy.

Is there anything else you would like to share with the network?

If anyone wants to get in touch with us they can contact myself, frankie@errigaltraining.ie or info@errigaltraining.ie. We're based in Falcarragh as I said earlier on there, and you'll find us on our website www.errigaltraining.ie

And that's it! Thank you very, very much.

Where can we find more information about Errigal Training Centre?

Website: errigaltraining.ie
X: @ErrigalC
LinkedIn: Errigal Training Centre

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