Sparrows Group, a specialist provider of engineering and maintenance services, and RelyOn Nutec, a global safety, training and competency organization, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to roll out specialist training across the world.

The global strategic partnership paves the way for RelyOn Nutec to launch Sparrows’ 100+ crane and lifting operation training courses across its worldwide training centers, a move which combines their joint expertise and will see multi-million-dollar investment in new training facilities and staff. It’s expected that an executed agreement will follow the MOU shortly.

RelyOn Nutec, which is the global leader in safety training and competence services to high-risk industries, is already delivering training in this sector but Sparrows is widely recognized as the global technical authority in crane and lifting operations. Sparrows will maintain its role as subject matter experts in crane and lifting operations, supporting the development and delivery of specialist technical and vocational training.

Following the agreement, RelyOn Nutec will manage the delivery of the training services through both companies’ global training facilities, utilizing their operations, sales and business development teams and industry leading training management and competence assurance systems. RelyOn Nutec will roll out the training throughout its 33 global training centers in Europe, the middle east, North America and Asia Pacific, in addition to Sparrows’ six training facilities in the US, UK, Angola, Singapore and Abu Dhabi.

Initially, a new Sparrows center of excellence will be launched in RelyOn Nutec’s Qatar facilities in March to support clients working in the offshore, construction and infrastructure industries, with RelyOn Nutec committing to a significant investment to install its specialist crane and lifting simulator technology (RelyOn Simulation). The Qatar facility will also create up to five new lifting and crane operation roles. In addition to Qatar, the partners are also actively assessing new facilities in elsewhere in the middle east and in Kazakhstan. Both sides are set to make significant investments to ensure a quick roll out of the training by the end of 2021.

February 23, 2021, will also herald the start of the build phase of a simulator at RelyOn Nutec’s Wellheads facility in Dyce, Aberdeen, marking another investment in crane and lifting operation training for the organization. Operating alongside Sparrows’ existing simulator at their Tyrebagger facility in the city, will allow for increased capacity and additional accredited courses to be delivered across both locations.

Jason Grant, VP of technical training & simulation at RelyOn Nutec, said: “Sparrows Group is well known as the global technical authority in this industry. Having Sparrows world leading skills and knowledge aligned to RelyOn Nutec’s training and competence management systems, expertise and global presence, will ensure that this safety critical training can be delivered where it is needed most.

“As we see reportable safety incidents in lifting operations increasing in many geographies, with no agreed global standards in place to assure safety and workforce competence, there is no better time to combine the training resources of our two groups and take this safety critical training to the market.”

Stewart Mitchell, Sparrows CEO, added: “Ensuring the safety of people and equipment is a key part of what we do and developing strong workforce competency underpins that. We established our offshore crane operator training more than 30 years ago and it is globally recognised as the oil and gas industry benchmark.

“Having this agreement in place supports our strategy for growth and enables us to expand our provision to new locations. With RelyOn Nutec’s expertise in training and competence management, we can ensure the highest standards of training delivery to support safe lifting operations across global industries.”

RelyOn Nutec has diversified in recent years, adding to its core training business with a strengthened digital offering and expanding its consultancy services.

RelyOn Nutec has over 33 training centers worldwide including two in the UK, in Aberdeen and Teesside, with a headcount of 800 globally.