Online Skill Assessments add Value for Oil and Gas Industry Stakeholders

In particular, one major eAssessment programme, introduced in December 2016 by International Well Control Forum (IWCF) - the only independent body focused on oil and gas well control planning and accreditation – has already assessed some 30,000 candidates online.

Focusing on improving competency throughout the industry while stressing the core values of quality, safety and integrity, IWCF has introduced eAssessment in conjunction with eCom Scotland, a leading provider of online training and assessment and which, over the last 25 years, has been building an enviable worldwide reputation for its solutions’ quality and reliability.

IWCF manages the assessment and certification, worldwide, of some 30,000 of candidates annually through its global network of training centres. The majority of these centres transitioned to using online assessments in the last couple of years – increasingly prompted by the restrictions imposed as a result of the Covid19 pandemic. Currently, in the last year, some 22,500 candidates have undergone the assessment and certification process through eAssessment.

The online assessments, which include both knowledge and practical elements, are available in 17 languages.

“IWCF wanted to make the training and assessment process more accessible, responsive and user-friendly for candidates, training providers, assessors as well as IWCF staff – hence the move to eAssessment,” explained eCom’s Managing Director, Wendy Edie.

“The solution – known as FORUM and delivered via eCom’s assessment management platform, eNetAssess - allows invigilators to monitor student progress, automatically mark online tests, record practical assessments, manage and verify certificates, as well as deal with question authoring and multiple translation versions. Not only does FORUM enable candidates to register, update their details, locate a centre and participate in assessments, it provides IWCF administrators, centres, assessors and invigilators with a single platform for reviewing candidate details - and enables external users to authenticate and check the validity of a certificate.”

Powered by eNetBadges, FORUM issues successful candidates with electronic certification (eCerts) - significantly reducing waiting times for candidates to get their qualifications. The eCerts provide candidates with instant awards which can be displayed on their social media profiles. Furthermore, eCom developed a mobile app to allow candidates to prove their qualifications to employers.

“IWCF has worked with the eCom team for many years, utilising their experience on a number of digital projects,” said Zdenek Sehnal, IWCF’s Chief Executive Officer. “They’ve provided us with an online system that has been innovative and scalable to meet our current stakeholder demands.

“IWCF, our training centres and candidates have all experienced benefits from moving to an online certification model. eCerts offer an extra level of security by hosting a unique code within each badge; allow the industry to instantly validate certificates, and continue to reduce our carbon footprint by cutting our printing and shipping costs substantially.”