PETRONAS Refinery & Petrochemicals Corporation (PRPC) Sdn Bhd, Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) has opened the door to Institut Teknologi Petroleum PETRONAS (INSTEP) to conduct its first ever drone operation training & certification programme.  

The training has attracted 18 learners, comprising of mainly PETRONAS technicians and executives on offsite facilities and environment at PRPC.

Supporting PETRONAS’ growth strategy into innovative solutions and digital transformation, INSTEP is continuously stepping up to play its role as the premier learning arm of PETRONAS as a Technology Acceleration Enabler. 

Drones, or Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), have been breaking barriers in the way industries and organisations do business. They bring a host of benefits as they are cost-effective, time-saving, and life-changing. Most importantly, they reduce the manpower required to perform work in dangerous situation, such as working at height and other extreme environments, thus lowering the risks of incidents and hazards compared to the conventional method.  

Drone technology is constantly evolving, and it has been adopted and integrated into businesses in many PETRONAS and non-PETRONAS facilities across the globe. To keep up with the growing demand for drone operating skills, INSTEP has rolled out the Professional Drone Operator Training which is a fit-for-purpose training programme that fully comprehends the technicality of drone operation.  

Chief Executive Officer of INSTEP, Mr Idris Ibrahim commented, “As we place the tagline ‘Experiencing is Enriching’ at the heart of our business, we are passionate about the progress in transforming our learners’ experience and helping them realise ‘what could be’ to ‘what is’.” 

The programme incorporates comprehensive curriculum, flight simulation, and practical outdoor operation guided by industry experts and professional drone operators with vast real-world experience. 

Being the first batch of learners in the training programme, Mr. Nor Azman Zakaria, Manager of Area Maintenance Offsite Facilities at PRPC, said, “The learning materials in the training are highly relevant to my role as the Drone Programmme Leader for PRPC UF. The hands-on session allows us to fly the drone manually and set up autonomous flight mission for industrial application.” 

“This training is highly recommended to anyone who will operate a drone as part of their technical roles regardless of which industries they are in.” he added. 

The Professional Drone Operator Training Programme aims to produce certified and competent drone pilot who can operate drone in a safe, structured, and efficient manner. In addition to that, INSTEP is capable to customise, tailor, and develop the drone operation training programmme to suit various organisations’ need. 

INSTEP is established 40 years ago and since then, our purpose has remained the same, which is to continuously accelerate competency development through experiential learning and provide innovative solutions to upskill our technical talents. Additionally, INSTEP is committed to support the Facilities of Future (FoF) Programme in PETRONAS, by providing testbed, training programmes and facilities for the innovation and technologies in robots.