Oil industry: PTDF, stakeholders set to tackle skills gap headlong

Worried by the huge skill gap in the oil and gas industry and its attendant consequences on the econ¬omy, the Petroleum Tech¬nology Development Fund (PTDF) in collaboration with other relevant stake¬holders and some Nigerian universities have teamed up to arrest the situation.
Areas in the industry where the skills are lacking, they said, are geosciences, mechanical and electrical engineering, rig operations, among others.
Oluwole Oluleye, exec¬utive secretary, PTDF, said for his agency to contribute meaningfully in closing the skill gap, it has employed a three-pronged approach, hop¬ing that within the next few years substantial skills would have been developed in-coun¬try for the various sectors of the oil and gas industry.
“We want our engineers to be as proficient as possible. Skills development, building capacities and competitive¬ness are the mandates of the agency,” he said.
One of such approaches adopted by the agency, he said, was the commence¬ment of a retraining pro¬gramme in which 550 Nige¬rians are already engaged in skills such as welding, which is very critical to the growth and development of the industry. Another set of 500 trainees would be retrained after the completion of the first set. The industry, he ex¬plained, needs about 8,000 welders currently.
The second approach, the PTDF boss explained, is that the agency has decided to streamline its scholarship programme for Nigerians that are sent abroad to en¬sure that they resume aca¬demic work on time in their intended schools.
“When the trainees come from abroad, they are made to undergo practical training with members of the Petrole¬um Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) which are mostly indigenous compa¬nies and thereafter the PTDF would ensure that these trainees are fully integrated into some of the companies as employees”, he said.
He said it would no longer be the sole responsibility of multinational oil companies to provide jobs and training but indigenous companies would also help.
Another strategic move the agency has made is its collaboration with the Nigeria Content Develop¬ment and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) so that those that are trained are sent to the agency for placement in var¬ious companies under the supervision of the NCDMB.
The agency is also col¬laborating with 16 universi¬ties in the country that offer petroleum related courses to improve their facilities such as laboratory simulators.
Andrew Ejayeriese, react¬ing to this development, said it is the right movement to¬wards salvaging the deplor¬able skill gap in the system.
“This explains why Esso Exploration and Production Company organised train¬ing for about 70 lecturers from Nigerian universities on 4D seismic acquisition recently. This is high end technology in seismic ac-quisition that is used in the oil and gas sector.
“It is also one of the inputs we and other companies in the industry are making to ensure sustainable Nigerian content development”, he said.
Adedoja Ojelabi, presi¬dent, Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), said the association has worked with various stakeholders, especially oil companies, through the Uni¬versity Assisted Programme to ensure the quality of Nige¬rian graduates over the years.