By Juliet Aguiar DUGBARTEY
Egbert Faible Jnr, Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission (PC), has applauded GRO Oilfield Alliance, for training graduates to take up opportunities in the oil and gas industry.
“On behalf of the commission, I’d like to extend our gratitude to GRO for establishing an academy to train young individuals. This initiative, is truly commendable as it addresses a critical gap in our industry,” he said.
He noted that often, graduates from tertiary institutions such as KNUST and UMaT struggle to apply their theoretical knowledge in practical settings, leading to push back from companies.
“You have reaffirmed government’s commitment to ensuring Ghanaians benefit from the oil and gas resources through local content policy,” he said.
He said developing local talent is what is expected from the oil and gas industry and its service providers. “Technical know-how, expertise and job creation would help the industry to grow.”
He explained: “For expatriates working in Ghana’s oil fields, their expenses are factored into the cost of crude oil liftings; so training our own will help develop our economy”.
He added: “To bridge the gap in the industry, we invested US$1million in training 150 graduates at the various technical institutions across the country to make them field-ready at the Jubilee Technical Training Centre at TTU, under the Accelerated Oil and Gas Capacity Building Programme.
“This six-month programme provided free lodging and a monthly stipend of GH¢1,000, resulting in City and Guilds Level 3 vocational qualifications in Process Technician Ship, Electrical Technician Ship, among others,” he added.
Mr. Faibille was speaking at the 2024 Local Content Conference and Exhibition in Takoradi, when he presented certificates to five tertiary graduates, who have successfully passed their six months training at the GRO Academy.
He continued that the Local Content Policy aims to increase Ghanaian participation in the industry, promoting economic growth and development.
He said key objectives include increasing in-country spend through patronage of Ghanaian goods and services, localising job opportunities for Ghanaian professionals, facilitating training, research and development as well as enhancing capabilities and competitiveness of indigenous Ghanaian companies.
According to the CEO of PC, effective implementation of local content policies is crucial in addressing challenges such as low capacity of local firms and weak regulatory enforcement.
He encouraged the graduates to be diligent. “Know that in Ghana, we want our own to rise to the top; we want to see more Ghanaians in the industry.”
The General Manager of GRO Oilfield Alliance, Akpene Sunu, said the company has always taken initiatives to champion local content. “To further promote local content in our operation, we established an academy that takes the best selected Ghanaian talent from local engineering institutions through an accelerated, demanding training programme for over six months. The training offered are led by the best industry subject experts,” he explained.
He added: “The successful candidates are rewarded with a permanent job offer to join our talented local team working in Ghana and other parts of the group in West Africa.”
Mr. Sunu noted that many graduates struggle to secure employment in the oil and gas sector due to a lack of industry-specific training.
He mentioned there are opportunities in the sector and urged graduates to seek for industry specific training in areas such as Non-Destructive Testing (NDT), coating valve servicing, welding rope access, calibrating, among others.
“When you have these specifics training, employers will be looking for you rather than you looking for employers because opportunities are out there,” Mr. Sunu advised.
Ruth Ebela Kwofie, the only female among the graduates, told the B&FT: “I ventured into Engineering because I have passion for solving problems. Engineering encompasses various fields – construction, transportation, power and energy – and I’m eager to make an impact”.
She encouraged females, especially those at SHS, to study STEM-related courses to be able to compete with the male counterpart in the extractive sector.
