Aiming high in South Korea

A strong demand has led Trainor to establish a training center in South Korea. - An exciting market and definitely growth opportunities, says Country Manager of Trainor Korea, Henrik Eklund.

HIGH AMBITIONS AMONG "THE BIG THREE"

by Henrik Eklund, Country Manager.

Korea is the home of the world’s largest shipbuilding companies. The “big three” - Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries - are all located along the south coast of the Korean peninsula. Ship owners, operators and suppliers of equipment, material, engineering services and manpower services thrive and a cluster of related companies has formed around these giants. The preferred ship types to build in Korea include ultra-large container ships, tankers, LNG-carriers and drill ships. This is clearly shown in order books at the Korean shipyards. But Korea is also the preferred location to produce for example semi-submersible rigs, platforms, topsides and jack-up rigs.

 The need of competence

With all these advanced projects and hundreds of thousands of workers in rotation, the need for competency training is always on the agenda. Since there are numerous Norway-related projects in the Korean order books, Trainor decided to establish in the country. The build-up started in 2014, and we have now opened a brand new training center, strategically located nearby the shipyards in the city of Busan.

"With our expertise, our long experience and our focus on quality, we aim for being the preferred provider of training within Electrical Safety for the Korean offshore- and shipbuilding industry."

Henrik Eklund, Country Manager

Trainor can already provide its whole portfolio of classroom- and E-learning courses in English to the Korean market, and the work with local courses in the local language is progressing fast. With our expertise, our long experience and our focus on quality, we aim for being the preferred provider of training within Electrical Safety for the Korean offshore- and shipbuilding industry. Not only for the Norway-related projects but for all projects. We will also supply the market with training courses in Standards & Regulations. International as well as Norwegian and domestic.

A safe work environment

A product we know will be very popular in Korea is the IECEx Certification of Personnel Competence (CoPC). This international certificate is extremely useful for personnel alternating between projects from all over the world. Trainor’s status as an IECEx Recognized Training Provider and our close cooperation with IECEx Certification Bodies gives us a great position to become the leading supplier of preparatory training for this scheme.

The tempo in Korea is fast, and the market is extremely demanding. Despite increasing competition from China, there is no doubt that the Korean shipyards has the ambition to maintain its leading positions. A well-educated staff is crucial for a safe working environment and a competitive edge. Trainor has accepted the challenge.