Tullow reiterates sustainable growth in oil and gas sector

Mr Charles Darku, General Manager of Tullow Ghana Limited (TGL), has reiterated that the aim of the company to bring a long lasting sustainable growth to the oil and gas sector and the Ghanaian economy remains unchanged.

He said beside the support the company provided annually through the Tullow Group Scholarship Scheme, its internal training policy also ensures continuous development of their employees.

Mr Darku was speaking at the send-off dinner night for beneficiaries of the 2014/2015 Tullow Scholarship Scheme.

"An international on-the-job training for our technical team is ongoing despite the declining global crude oil prices," he added.

The 41 beneficiaries would study at the post-graduate level in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. The courses of study include Water and Environmental engineering, Marine Spatial Planning, Bio-technology and Business Enterprise, Journalism, Media and Communication, Law and Corporate Social Responsibility.

The scheme, in its fifth year, was managed through a partnership with the British Council in Ghana and has to date, awarded scholarships to 174 Ghanaians, who return to the country to work upon the completion of their studies.

He said being a major part of their social responsibility programme, the company allocated 2.7 million dollars annually to support the implementation of the scheme.

The Managing Director said in addition to the post-graduate scheme, Tullow had introduced a scholarship scheme for technical and vocational training at the pre-tertiary level, where beneficiaries receive bursary to attend the jubilee technical training centre at Takoradi.

This was aimed at supporting the development of pre-tertiary technical skills, which was among the immediate needs of the oil and gas industry in the country.

“For the 2015/2016 academic year, ten scholarships had been awarded to indigenes of the Western region to kick start this phase of the scholarship scheme.”

He urged the 2015 beneficiaries of the Tullow Group Scholarship Scheme to focus on their studies at their various Universities.

Mr Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, the Minister of Petroleum, commended Tullow for broadening the scope of the scheme to include programmes at the tertiary level.

He urged the beneficiaries to see the scholarship as an opportunity to development themselves and also contribute their quota to the growth of the economy.

Mr Godfried Boakye, Acting Director of British Council, managers of the Scheme, said his outfit received a total of over 5,000 written applications nationwide, out of which 595 applicants were invited for aptitude tests, group assessments and presentations in Accra, Takoradi and Kumasi.

He said a final selection of 41 scholars was made, which included 10 from the Western Region and others from various Ministries and Agencies.

“As an organisation with over 40 years of experience in scholarship management in Ghana, the British Council has remained true to its values of integrity, valuing people and professionalism in managing the recruitment and selection of candidates.

“We have followed meticulously the agreed criteria for selection to ensure that the most deserving candidates are successful. At each step of the way, the process has been objective, transparent, fair and robust”, Mr Boakye indicated.