Joseph Bensley - Former Instrument and Control Maintenance Apprentice

In this Q&A, former Instrument and Control Maintenance Apprentice, Joseph Bensley, reflects on his time with APTUS and shares how his career has progressed since completing his apprenticeship.

When did you complete the APTUS (previously known as OGTAP) apprenticeship programme and what discipline did you study? 2011 - 2015 and I studied Instrument and Control Maintenance.

Why did you originally choose to apply for an apprenticeship programme? I struggled to decide on a path after A-Levels, I went to a sixth form college in England so University was a heavily pushed path. I didn't know what degree I wanted to study or where I wanted to go so it felt pretty overwhelming. One of my tutors at the time was aware of the APTUS apprenticeship route and suggested it to me. I didn't even know what Instrument and Control Maintenance meant when I applied and I didn't prioritise the disciplines on the application! 

How has your career progressed since completing the APTUS programme? I completed my apprenticeship in 2015 and remained on the offshore platform with my sponsor company afterwards in a full time position. I moved into Operations at that time, worked through the Operations route from Outside Operator, Control Room Operator and Operations Supervisor. In 2020 I moved to the CNNS as a full time System Supervisor Production. Since then I been on 3 platforms in the CNNS as an SSP, Senior Ops and Maintenance Tech and Operations and Reliability Coordinator. Most recently I have taken an onshore position and relocated to Aberdeen where I am now working for Adura as Senior Operations Support Engineer.

What skills have you learnt/taken away from the APTUS programme that help you/you use on a regular basis in your career now? Fault finding, team work, working with people of differing opinions and different knowledge/skills, negotiation and influencing skills, instrument technical knowledge.

If you could speak with someone considering the APTUS programme, what would you say to them to encourage them to apply? I would say go for it, there is a still a long life ahead for the future technicians and engineers. Whilst it may no longer be the case you work with one employer throughout your career, there is plenty of opportunities and with the aging work force, even more are likely to present themselves.

Do you have any advice for the apprentices currently completing the programme? Enjoy it while it lasts, you'll look back on it fondly in future years.