Oil and gas operators and contractors will gather to examine how to improve standards of safety and competency that protect the workforce and the industry’s reputation.

The Opito Safety and Competency Conference OSCC 2013 will take place on November 19 at the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel.

Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and other keynote speakers will outline the parallels between improving safety in the automotive sector and the oil and gas industry.

The event will be chaired by Gordon Ballard, chairman of Opito and Schlumberger UK Limited, a training standards’ organisation.

The conference will explore how a global approach to training standards, frameworks, qualifications and quality assurance of the training supply network add value for employers and what this means for individuals in the workplace.

David Doig, Opito’s group chief executive, will also give a keynote address on ‘Leading the Charge for Change,’ outlining how the body is driving the industry quest for common global standards and highlight how its products are adding real value to companies and increasing employee safety performance across the globe.

“The focus of this year’s conference is firmly on competence and will provide the audience with a detailed insight into how to build an effective competence and safety management system that is flexible in nature so it works for the business, the environment and, most importantly, helps people go to work and come home safely,” he added. - TradeArabia News Service