UK/Norway Cross-Border Business to Business Mentoring Programme   |   29th October 2009

Following on from the success of the first and second UK/Norway Cross-Border Business to Business Mentoring Programmes, DECC and INTSOK (Norwegian Oil and Gas Partners) are pleased to announce the launch of the third phase of the programme and are now inviting small to medium sized organisations in the UK and Norway to participate in the programme.

The aim of this 12 month programme is to match Mentors from Oil Operators and Contractors in the UK and Norway to small to medium sized enterprises (SME’s) in the opposing country to improve cross-border export opportunities, share knowledge and provide a valuable insight into business practices and cultures in the two countries.

A number of high profile Norwegian companies including StatoilHydro have agreed to be Mentors for the UK side. All Mentors providing support to SME’s on the programme are typically middle/senior managers or senior technical personnel within the organisation and come from a wide range of backgrounds.  Mentors are matched with SME’s based on the skills and experience they can offer and aligned as much as possible, to the skills and experience required by the Mentee.  For any areas of expertise that the Mentor may be particularly lacking, they can still provide support by accessing more relevant personnel within their organisation that may be able to assist. 

Typical areas where SME’s stand to benefit in increased knowledge and expertise include areas such as;

·       Business Planning and Strategy

·       Contracting and Commercial Strategy

·       Exporting / Importing

·       Management Systems and Processes

·       Research / Technology Development

·       Sales and Marketing

·       Supply Chain Management

·       Various Engineering or Technical disciplines

In order for an SME’ to be considered for entry on to the programme, organisations must meet all of the following criteria;

·       Have less than 250 employees

·       Actively involved in the Oil and Gas Industry

·       Currently involved in exporting to Norway

·       Able to demonstrated a proven performance in QHS&E

·       Proactive and innovative in product or service development

·       Financially sound

The format for the programme sees each Mentor matched with an appropriate SME organisation in the neighbouring country through a comprehensive matching and selection process.  They then work together over a 12 month period as part of a structured programme, culminating in the production of a joint case study which reflects the combined successes, achievements and learning gained.

Mentors are expected to devote between 5% and 10% of their time mentoring their SME over the 12 month period.  Mentees and Mentors will be expected to visit each other at least once every quarter, this will be in addition to regular telephone and e-mail contact. 

Mentees will be expected to devote a significant amount of time to the programme and generally the benefits will be directly linked to the time afforded to the initiative. Costs will be minimal albeit participants will have to pick up the cost of travel or accommodation incurred throughout the programme. In addition there will be a small fee payable by each participating SME of £1000 plus VAT which will cover all programme management and administration including catering and venue costs for the launch event and quarterly networking events.

In addition to the one-to-one mentoring relationship, there will be a number of events for participants organised on a quarterly basis in the UK and Norway, which will provide the opportunity for networking amongst participants, sharing of experiences and review of the progress to date.  It will also provide an opportunity for appropriate guest speakers to talk to the collective programme membership on some of the most important issues affecting the industry today such as supply chain and skills shortages.

Some of the key benefits which have been achieved by organisations on the first two programme’s include:

·       Significantly improved understanding of the UK/Norway markets

·       Improved knowledge in technical/commercial areas

·       Changing ideas and challenging thought processes, helping understand cultural differences and enabling a more open minded approach

·       Improvements in Supply Chain interfaces and better understanding of contracting strategy

·       Significantly improved network of contacts

The attached information pack gives more details on the programme.  If your organisation is interested in participating, please complete the attached application form in the first instance, and return it by Friday the 6^th of November.

For any further information, contact:

Ref: UK/Norway Mentoring Programme

Rebecca Barry
Industry Development Manager
PILOT Secretariat, Industry & Technology Development
DECC - Department of Energy & Climate Change
3rd Floor
Atholl House
86-88 Guild Street
Aberdeen
AB11 6AR

Rebecca.Barry@decc.gsi.gov.uk

Tel: +44 (01224) 254057

Fax: +44 (01224) 212521