A FIRM providing protective coating and safety services for the offshore sector has signed an apprenticeship deal to build on £200m contracts.

Wood Group Industrial Services (WGIS) is working alongside Gateshead’s Access Training to improve workers’ accounting skills.

The Northern Echo previously reported how Wood Group, which has offices in Gateshead, had secured a number of agreements with operators, including an £85m deal with Babcock International to provide surface preparation, protective coatings, scaffolding, insulation, rope access and fire services.

It also has a three-year contract with Shell to deliver industrial services to the St Fergus gas processing plant, in Aberdeenshire, and the Mossmorran gas processing plant and Braefoot Bay marine terminal, in Fife.

WGIS, part of the John Wood Group, carries out work on Royal Navy aircraft carriers and previously took over Gateshead-based coatings company Pyeroy, which won a deal to apply protective paint to the forward navigation bridge on the HMS Queen Elizabeth warship.

Referring to its Access Training partnership, management accountant, Mark Hudson, who started his career as an accounts apprentice with the organisation, said: “We realised we needed more support in our finance team, so we have been working with Access to recruit and develop accounting apprentices.

“We now employ four and all of them have really impressed us and have all been taken on permanently before the end of their probationary periods.”

The recruits include Ryan Hamilton, 21, from Newcastle, who works as an accounts payable assistant.

He has joined fellow apprentices, Emma Smith, Shannon Gibson and Bethanie Brown, who are all working towards qualifications with Access.

Access has offices in Gateshead, Newcastle and Chester-le-Street.