Let’s Give The Trained Technicians Opportunities In The Upstream Sector – PC CEO

He said this at the AOGC Stakeholder Engagement held on Wednesday 11^th May,2022 to discuss placements for the qualified Ghanaian technicians. He explained that the cost of bringing in expatriates is high and the employment of qualified Ghanaians in the industry will contribute to a reduction in petroleum operation cost. “We are in this together and we can reduce the oil and gas operational cost from the job role localisation standpoint because we now have a pool of 149 that you are at liberty to choose from,” he said.

Adding his voice to the call, Consultant, AOGC Secretariat at the Commission, Dr. Paul Frempong, iterated the efforts made by Government to ensure that there is a pool of trained technicians readily available to understudy expatriates to enable them play key roles in the industry. He encouraged companies to engage the first cohort of trained technicians. “There is every economic justification to consider these 149 technicians for employment in your company giving the cost of bringing in expatriates into the country. There should not be continuous excuses that there are no qualified Ghanaians as it has been in the past,” he added.

The 149 beneficiaries graduated last month from the JTTC of the Takoradi Technical University (TTU) and acquired the City and Guilds International Vocational Qualification (IVQ) Level III and Diploma in Oil and Gas Operations certificates following training as pipefitting, electrical, process, instrumentation and mechanical technicians.

Speaking at the event, Ag. Director, Localisation at the Commission, Mrs. Sarah Quayson Danquah, emphasised the Commission’s commitment to increasing job role localisation in the industry. She added that the Commission will continue to put in place policies and pragmatic measures to promote the development of the required skills sets needed in the industry.

JTTC Centre Manager at TTU, Prof. John Bentil, pledged the Centre’s commitment to contribute to job role localization through the offering of courses that are relevant to the industry.

On his part, Manager, AOGC at the Commission, Mr. Mustapha Hameed called for a proper monitoring and evaluation framework and agreements between industry and Government to get the needed industry support for the AOGC programme. He added that the establishment of a self-funding mechanism for the long-term sustainability of the programme is crucial if AOGC programmes are to succeed.

The four months training and two months internship sponsored by the Commission aimed at building the capacities of the 149 young Ghanaians to international standards to make them job market ready for the upstream and allied industries for engagement as technicians on FPSOs, drill ships, marine vessels, and fabrication yards.

Source: Petroleum Commission