Vysus Group
Jodie Gillies, HR Director
About you
Tell us a bit about your organisation (who are you, where do you operate)
Vysus Group is a global engineering and technical consultancy which offers specialist asset performance, risk management and project management expertise across complex industrial assets, energy assets (oil and gas, nuclear and renewables) and energy transition projects.
We operate across the globe with offices in more than 20 countries, including Houston, Kuala Lumpur, Oslo, Melbourne and our HQ in Aberdeen.
What is keeping you busy currently? What large projects are you working on?
We have had a very busy 2023 so far, securing technical consulting projects in numerous locations, including the UK, Scandinavia, Malaysia, USA, Australia and Japan, for energy, chemical and infrastructure clients – more than half of which are in the renewables sector. A growing part of our business is in the hydrogen space, with a number of really interesting hydrogen safety studies ongoing.
We opened a new hub in Bristol last year to bolster our presence in the offshore wind market and our team is working on various scopes, including geophysical survey consulting for planned offshore wind developments in the North Sea, US and Asia. Our ModuSpec team is also extremely busy, with teams managing integrated rig intake and inspection projects across the globe.
What are the biggest net zero changes you have seen in our industry?
External attitudes towards fossil fuels from people who do not work in the sector. There has been a real culture shift which will continue to have a negative impact on attracting and re-attracting people to work in the sector. We know that oil & gas still has a huge role to play in energy, however some of the bad press from those out with the sector, has not been helpful in attracting young people into STEM related careers.
How would you describe the company culture? Do you have any specific shared values?
Vysus Group was established in 2020 and comprises a number of businesses that had been acquired by our previous owner, Lloyd’s Register. The creation of Vysus took place during the pandemic and the significant work involved was delivered almost 100% remotely – meaning the majority of our initial engagement around culture took place virtually. While we have great local team interactions in our 20+ global offices, we are fortunate to also have a strong virtual global community which I believe has continued from our early days working remotely.
We worked with our teams globally to establish our three core values – Trust, Partnership and Passion. We regularly recognise our colleagues for living our values, including our quarterly Vysus Group Stars – colleagues who have gone above and beyond in demonstrating these values.
About your OEUK membership
As an organisation how is OEUK membership helping your business?
Our colleagues get a lot from OEUK’s forums and working groups and we have a good representation on these. The events and networking opportunities are also great – being able to access the information and knowledge sharing that OEUK facilitates is a real benefit.
In addition, as a relatively new brand, profile-raising is another plus for us.
Which OEUK event did you most enjoy and why?
The business breakfasts are an excellent source of information and insights, and of course a great networking opportunity.
OEUK has over Fourteen Forums, which forum do you attend and what do you like most about that particular forum?
I am a member of the Employment and Skills Forum and for me, it’s hearing about the latest trends and insights and also the opportunity for knowledge sharing with others from the industry.
Future of the industry
What are some of the opportunities/challenges you see for your organisation in the future?
There are lots of opportunities for us as we continue to grow and scale our business globally following the divestments we made in 2022, to sharpen our focus on our high-end technical engineering offering. While we fully recognise the importance of oil and gas in the energy transition and continue to support clients in the upstream market, we are also rapidly increasing our presence in the renewables space with our teams involved in offshore wind, hydrogen and ammonia, nuclear, grid connection and many other emerging energy projects.
In terms of challenges, employee retention and hiring is a challenge as we are operating in a very competitive market. We do, however, have a fantastic talent pool across our organisation and are fortunate to have some extremely interesting projects that keep our technical consultants engaged.
How do you see the industry looking in 20 years?
As I have mentioned, we know that oil & gas has a significant role to play in the transition and will be in the energy mix for some to come, however it will be interesting to see how we continue to use our transferable skills as we diversify further with emerging energies and how this will look in 20 years.
How is your organisation driving the transition to net zero?
The sectors in which our clients operate has changed from being primarily hydrocarbons focused to a far more diverse mix. We still have a strong presence in oil & gas as well as a significantly increasing footprint in other complex industrial sectors and renewables. We are working collaboratively with partners to help enable technology driven solutions to help our clients with some of the biggest challenges the transition brings for them.
