End of Year Address by the MD of OMPA
” Energy and persistence conquer all things” – Benjamin Franklin
In today’s market, maintaining energy and persistence is key to ensuring success in the people-focused business. The journey of persistence in business may not always be smooth, but with unwavering energy, you can reach your goals.
2024 has been an interesting year for the offshore renewable, oil and gas, and telecoms sectors. The industry resembles a complex puzzle, with numerous moving pieces making it challenging to forecast and develop long-term strategies. As the industry experiences growth and places increasing demands on the supply chain, the fundamental challenge of limited people and resources continues to be stretched.
Attraction and Retention
These two words are pivotal as we move into 2025 and beyond. Attracting top talent to the industry is essential, particularly by leveraging cross-functional skills and engaging the next generation. The future success of offshore construction depends on how we staff the ships, operate the equipment, and manage the offices that drive this industry forward.
Once talent is onboard, retention becomes the priority. How do we keep skilled professionals to ensure their expertise grows and stays within the industry? Building a multi-generational culture that meets the needs of your team is challenging but achievable.
Reinventing how we approach and value our people is critical to fulfilling these goals and securing the industry’s future.
Recruitment in the industry has often taken on a cold, corporate approach to supplying personnel for offshore and onshore roles. At OMPA, we pride ourselves on taking a 360-degree, respectful approach, valuing the people we work with and providing them with a service that reflects our deep operational understanding.
This same ethos extends to our clients, as we are not just a standalone recruitment and training agency; we are part of an operational group of companies that share a unified culture across all four businesses (experience, services, equipment and people) ensuring a consistent and thoughtful approach in everything we do.
In 2025 we will be focusing and developing our team and our client management to ensure that we continue to meet the highest standards of service.
Looking at the industry, we’ve witnessed remarkable collaboration between offshore and onshore operations, even as international competition intensifies with new players entering the field.
The development of USA and upcoming rounds in Taiwan and Japan coming online, further stretches our resources while also bringing opportunities to welcome new clients. We look forward to sharing our expertise and ensuring our team is ready to deliver success on each client’s project.
While finding and rapidly upskilling talent in the offshore renewable sector remains a challenge, we are fully committed to addressing it with dedication and innovation.
Our top priority remains delivering exceptional service to our clients and contractors. Building and expanding our team is central to supporting and sustaining our business growth. We embrace a holistic approach, ensuring comprehensive support from initial engagement to project completion. In an industry often driven by transactions, we never lose sight of the human element at its core.
The year ahead promises more opportunities for travel as we engage with expanding markets in the USA, Asia, and Australia. Our team is excited about the prospects of exploring new destinations in 2025. While Europe remains a major player, developing markets are making steadfast contributions and we are committed to keeping our doors open to all international opportunities.
Our #UnwindYourMind mental health awareness program continues to be a key initiative across our group of companies. In the coming year, we aim to bring it to the forefront alongside our unwavering commitment to safety. We’re exploring new programs to help individuals feel supported in their daily struggles and foster greater awareness among colleagues. Stay tuned to our LinkedIn pages for updates and share your thoughts with us.
At OMPA, our team and services are expanding as we bring on more people managers and support staff to enhance and grow our bespoke offerings.
We’re focusing on work-life balance and developing our professionals in a fun and creative environment whilst delivering a 24-7 service. Creating an environment where people enjoy coming to work is at the core of what I strive to achieve in the office.
People matter. Remembering that people are more than just assets, we’re extending our commitment to work-life balance to our contractors who sacrifice a lot to keep the industry moving forward.
I wish good health and success to all our clients, contractors, suppliers, and their families. I look forward to the future challenges and success of this business and strengthening our market position.
Rob Grimmond, Managing Director OMPA.