A Kraken new way of training thanks to Inward Investment Skills Fund
An Aberdeen based company have developed a new online training academy for staff thanks to funding from the Inward Investment Skills Fund (IISF).
Kraken Robotics, whose headquarters are in Canada but have their operations base in Aberdeen, are a marine technology company, carrying out underwater surveys offshore mainly for the wind sector. They also sell systems to the military which are mainly used for minehunting operations. The company has 32 employees in Aberdeen – a mix of office workers and offshore staff.
Lynne Adu, Chief Commercial Officer said “The technology we use was originally for the oil and gas sector, but we’ve successfully pivoted into the wind sector. Our sonars survey the sea floor and sub seabed, imaging what’s on the seabed and below using high resolution, 3D sensors. If someone was planning an offshore wind farm, we can tell them what’s buried in the seabed. For example, unexploded ordnance (UXO) can be quite a hazard near the shore.”
Prior to the development in Scotland of the bespoke online training academy, anytime the company recruited a new geoscientist, they had to go over to the company HQ in Canada to undertake their training.
Lynne said “We were told about the Inward Investment Skills Fund from Scottish Enterprise. We were then introduced to Heather Milne from Skills Development Scotland who has been our main contact and supported us through the application process.”
The IISF offers funding and support for reskilling and upskilling employees to deliver the Scottish Government’s ‘Scotland’s Inward Investment Plan: Shaping Scotland’s Economy’., where mainstream provision doesn't exist elsewhere. The fund is aimed at companies who have a non-Scottish headquarters seeking to invest in Scotland and create and/or safeguard jobs. The fund aims to support businesses to develop and implement innovative skills training.
Lynne said “The funding was a big factor in helping us develop the training programme - it’s something we’d wanted to do for a while. When we heard about the fund, we thought that it could help make the programme a reality by supporting the training development.
“We’ve called it the Kraken Academy, and it’s an online series of modules that staff can undertake depending on their role within the company. It also includes assessments that are undertaken after completion of the modules.
“The savings in costs and time with the development of the academy have been huge. We continue to build and develop the programme. It’s been a game changer for our business - it’s a more professional approach to tracking training and competency of our staff and helps to demonstrate our competency to clients.
“Since being introduced to Heather at SDS, we’ve also taken on two Modern Apprentices which is going well. Hopefully both are young superstars in the making.”
Heather Milne, Growth and Inward Investment Manager with Skills Development Scotland said “It’s great that the IISF has been able to support the development of the Kraken Academy and that it’s made a huge difference to new and existing employees in accessing training. We’re looking forward to continuing our work with Kraken Robotics to support their skills needs.”
Lynne adds “We’re looking to apply to the fund again this year, as we want to expand our modules to include training for more of our service lines. We may even look to further expand the academy to offer out training to clients to help familiarise them with our systems.”