LOUISE SINCLAIR: Goals can shift, results are just a snapshot
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The View from the Board by Louise Sinclair
When approached to write this column, tensions were running high in the Sinclair household with two teenagers eagerly awaiting SQA exam results. We often discussed the ‘what ifs’ and the many mooted contingency plans.
Similarly, it was a hot topic of discussion with family and friends, the key theme being that few people are doing what they left school to do. Everyone took a different path, with each step an opportunity to learn a skill, discover what they liked, or learn what they weren’t particularly good at.
My company, Sinclair Bay Subsea, supplies specialised engineers to oil and gas clients, some working as close to Caithness as Scapa Flow, whilst others are in far flung places such as Singapore, Ghana and Mexico.
No two engineers in our team have had similar routes into their current roles. Very few are university-educated, although some have gained degrees as adults. Most started as apprentices with non-oil related employers such as agricultural engineers, motor mechanics, ship builders, plumbers – although several started out with oil-field service companies. We have a few ex-Royal Navy aircraft technicians, too.
Another key attribute of our engineers is experience, not of their current role, but of how a drilling rig or ship works. Most didn’t go straight into their current offshore role, with many stepping back from their trade, beginning as a floorhand and working their way up. Gaining an understanding of the drilling process and working relationships from the drill-floor has probably stood them in better stead than any academic qualifications.
The young people of Caithness will currently be plotting their next moves after a mixed bag of exam results. For those with the desired results – keep going and continue to work hard, don’t rest on your laurels. For those whose results didn’t go to plan – keep going and continue to work hard, just take a slightly different route than first planned.
Please do not let your grades define the rest of your life! It is only a snapshot from May 2022.
Have a goal to work towards, just recognise that this goal is fluid. Where goals change, it’s not a measure of success or failure, it’s maturing as a person, recognising strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly, realising what works for the individual.
- Louise Sinclair, director of Sinclair Bay Subsea Ltd, is vice chairperson of Caithness Chamber of Commerce and DYW North Highland chairperson.
