The government’s Accelerated Oil and Gas Capacity (AOGC) programme has selected eight (8) engineering lecturers from various Technical Institutions to go for training at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Canada, to receive specialized training.
The training, established to enhance the capacity of Ghanaians to enable them to work in the Oil and Gas sector, is known as “becoming a master instructor framework”.
Under the programme, the beneficiary lecturers will be trained to obtain certification as pipefitters, mechanical technicians as well as welders.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Petroleum Commission, Egbert Faibille, together with the Minister for Energy, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh (NAPO), presented the eight candidates for the overseas training to President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House ahead of their departure from Ghana on the 22 January 2022.
They will go through training for a period of 10 months.
In his address, Mr. Faibille noted that the sponsorship constitutes part of efforts aimed at deepening the participation of Ghanaians in the Oil and Gas Sector and for that matter the upstream industry.
“These persons are being trained at the sole cost of the Petroleum Commission and on return, will be mandated to introduce pipe fitting alongside other competencies that they are going to obtain in their various institutions,” Mr. Faibille said.
He added that the AOGC beneficiaries after their training will return to Ghana to train other young people who are interested in upstream welding in order to develop further the capacity of more young people for their possible engagement.
The beneficiaries are Emmanuel Marcus Abaidoo, Takoradi Technical Institute, Isaac Oppong, Kikam Technical Institute, Daniel Kyei-Kankam, Takoradi Technical University and Frank Nana Osei, Takoradi Technical University.
The rest are Abdul Hamid Mohammed, Tamale Technical University, Wise Kwashie Klomegah, Ho Technical University, Samuel Garriba, Cape Coast Technical University and the only female, Mrs. Gladys Perpetual Awudi, Koforidua Technical University.
President Akufo-Addo could not hide his joy at the fact that the Petroleum Commission has sustained the AOGC policy on its mandate to develop the capacity of Ghanaians for strategic participation in the oil and gas space.
“You are part of a nation-building exercise and if God willing we succeed in developing and bring prosperity to it, you have a very coveted place in that narrative, in that story,” President Akufo-Addo said.
The AOGC
The AOGC was established in November 2017 with the intent to enhance the capacity of Ghanaians to enable them to work in the Oil and Gas sector.
The program will be in effect for 5 years and aims to train individuals in various technical and vocational areas, build the capacity of educational institutions to be able to train students and provide internationally recognized training certificates, provide business and management training for SMEs, and to ensure the continuous professional development of employees of various public institutions connected to the Oil and Gas industry.
The objectives of the program are as follows: Ensure the creation of jobs and professional integration pathways, facilitate capacity building of educational and training institutes, invest in education and skills enhancement, minimize the cost of training, localize training, improve quality of education/training, empower local companies to actively participate in the Oil and Gas industry, train Ghanaians in high job creating sectors (welding, pipe fitting, fabrication and installation, etc.), and to encourage women’s participation in the AOGC.
