Two years ago, Marcus Garrett began as a trainee operator with Horizon Energy Services, this week he receives his ENCHEM Level Two qualification from EXITO.
The Energy industry is in the blood for Marcus, whose brother Paul is the Managing Director of Horizon Energy. Marcus started with a night watchman/safety observer role at the Cheal Facility in South Taranaki during the construction phase, utilising any downtime during nightshifts to study manuals and assignments passed down from Paul.
Once the Cheal Facility was operational, Marcus was taken on as a trainee operator on site, learning both field and panel operations through mentoring and training from Horizons Senior Operators. ‘I really appreciated the opportunity Paul provided to get my foot in the door’ says Marcus. Oil and gas is an exciting, dynamic industry and the people we get to work with and learn from are great, very supportive of trainees learning the ropes. Hands on learning and being able to ask questions as you go means you pick things up really quickly’.
Prior to entering the energy industry, Marcus’s work experience was primarily mechanical, which he has found to be an asset while transitioning into this new field ‘mechanics is about processes, says Marcus, ‘how different parts work together to get the right flow, having a mechanical background has definatly helped in that regard. I think being motivated to learn, not being afraid to ask questions and having a great team to work with has really made the difference and accelerated my ability to achieve’.
Marcus is now a fully qualified and competent Senior Panel Operator with Horizon, who intends to achieve both his ENCHEM Level Three and OSH Level Three qualifications before the end of this year.
He would like to thank his brother Paul for giving him the opportunity to enter the industry as a trainee, the Horizon team for their guidance and encouragement and Richard Singleton and the team at EXITO for their support of both his own learning and lifting industry standards as a whole through learning and assesment.