The Petroleum Commission, in line with its mandate to ensure the localization of Ghana’s Petroleum industry, has commenced capacity building for 150 Ghanaians at the Takoradi Technical University’s Jubilee Technical Training Centre.
Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission, Egbert Failbile, speaking at the event at TTU said the six-month academic and internship training is under the Accelerated Oil and Gas Capacity Building Programme, AOGC, which is aimed at ending the usual denial of Ghanaians petroleum jobs due to lack of appropriate hand-on industry skills.
“This is an excellent initiative which feeds into the government’s overarching agenda to develop the country’s human resource base for increased participation in the oil and gas industry. Many of such initiatives are encouraged in the industry to develop the competencies of Ghanaians and to position them to take up key roles in the industry. By far, this training programme will witness 150 Ghanaian youth selected after sitting for a nationwide aptitude test to train as City & Guilds certified Electrical, Mechanical, Instrumentation and Process Technicians here at the Jubilee Technical Training Centre (JTTC).”
“This represents the largest number so far to be trained in oil and gas technical fields/areas under the AOGC. This six (6) month training programme is sponsored by the government of Ghana through the Petroleum Commission at the cost of nearly US$1,000,000, 000”, he said.
The Chief Executive of the Petroleum Commission while commending the Jubilee partners and Takoradi Technical University for its partnership in hosting the training of the 150 beneficiaries said the Jubilee Technical Training Centre, JTTC, was selected due to its international accreditation status. He advised the beneficiaries to take the programme seriously since those who excel would be rewarded.
“Subject to the availability of funds, top 10 candidates would be sponsored to pursue Level IV Certification in the UK. Upon completion of the classroom work, trainees will be attached to companies in the petroleum, mining, construction, and manufacturing industries and will be enrolled in their specified area of training to acquire practical skills and experience. The Petroleum Commission will monitor the training periodically to ensure that training is being done to meet the objective and agreement with TTU. After the six-month training, the Commission will place the applicants in the Commission’s Localisation database as qualified technicians and be matched with opportunities that may arise to work as successors to expatriates,“ he added.
The Vice-Chancellor of Takoradi Technical University, Rev. Prof. John Frank Eshun, said the six-month training programme that will end on Friday, 11th March 2022, will offer beneficiaries industry-specific certification which re-enforces TTU’s vision of becoming a centre of excellence for TVET.
“The vision of Takoradi Technical University is to be a world-class Technical University recognized for excellence, innovation and social relevance with its niche area in the oil and gas engineering. Indeed, this is one of many steps which will facilitate the realisation of our vision. The 150 beneficiaries who have been carefully selected from across the country will undergo intensive hands-on skills training in oil and gas and other related fields. The training consists of Four months of academic work and 2 months of industrial attachment and then at the end of their training they will receive IVQ City and Guilds level 3 certificates which are internationally recognized”, he said.
A Deputy Energy Minister, Andrew Mercer, said the training emphasizes the government’s commitment to improving the Ghanaian economy through the Petroleum industry. Representing the Vice President, the Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah, said the training is a manifestation of the government’s commitment to building capacity in the oil and sectors and the promotion of local participation through job creation.
“Government clearly understands that the rate of economic growth and job creation in this country is to a large extent linked to the success of the petroleum sector. In this regard, we are here to mark this event, acknowledging that the role of the petroleum industry in our economy is imperative…. This event is an important platform to signal another important milestone in the commitment of the government to accelerate the training of Ghanaians in our emerging oil and gas industry and ensure that Ghanaians who are the ultimate owners of our petroleum resources benefit to a large extent“, he said.
The Managing Director of Tullow Ghana, Wissam Al Monthiry, said Ghana’s efforts at training the needed skills for the oil and Gas Industry is the right way to go. The MD of Tullow said the establishment of the JTTC at a cost of $10million had the same intention as the PC’s AOGC programme.
The AOGC Programme was launched in November 2017 to invest in the education and skills enhancement of Ghanaians to manage the Oil and Gas sector.
3,500 candidates applied, and selection criteria were developed to shortlist qualified applicants.
To further enhance the quality of the selected candidates, a nationwide examination was conducted in five centres in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi, and Tamale for the 3,500 applicants.
The top 300 applicants were further shortlisted to be interviewed. As a result, 150 candidates were selected for the programme.
