Government bemoans skills gap in oil and gas sector

Deputy Minister of Energy, Mohammed Amin Adam, has expressed his disappointment in the lack of skills in Ghana’s oil and gas sector.

This situation, he asserted, has hindered government’s efforts to maximize value for Ghana.

“Government is fully aware that notwithstanding all these initiatives by oil and gas companies as well as agencies of the state, there still exists a significant skills gap in the oil and gas industry, which tends to dwarf our resolve at maximizing value for our country’, Mr. Amin Mohammed bewailed.

Delivering a speech at the launch of the Tullow Scholars Alumni at the British Council on Friday, March 16, Mr. Amin Adam conceded that though beneficiaries of existing scholarship programmes graduate as geologists, petroleum engineers, petroleum economists and petroleum policy analysts, there is still the absence of technical know-how in the industry.

“We have not been able to train many technicians and middle-level personnel who are in high demand by the oil and gas industry and who make the industry what it means to develop and complete projects. I’m talking about the welders, technicians”, the Deputy Energy Minister admitted.

He announced government’s intentions to close the skills gap in the oil and gas sector through the Accelerated Oil and Gas Capacity programme.

“In response to these demands, the government has launched the Accelerated Oil and Gas Capacity (AOGC) Programme as our flagship skills and capacity development initiative to position Ghanaians to play active roles in the oil and gas industry. I am happy to note that seven educational institutions selected to participate in this programme have been well equipped with modern equipment and machinery to train first class welders and other categories of technicians to serve the needs of the oil and gas industry in Ghana”, he stated.

Dignitaries who attended the launch of the Tullow Scholars Alumni include the Chief Executive Officer of Tullow Ghana Limited, Charles Darku, the immediate past Attorney General, Madam Marietta Brew as well as the Country Director of the British Council.