Kampala, Uganda | URN | The oil and gas companies continue to train Ugandans with skills related to the sector even as major construction nears completion.
Questions have been raised on whether the skills being imparted now will be required when the country begins to produce oil.
Others have asked whether the sector will absorb all the skilled workers, raising concerns about whether some graduates may struggle to find work.
The Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) and the Joint venture partners, TotalEnergies EP, CNOOC, and the Uganda National Oil Company have, however, defended the need to have Ugandans with technical skills related to the sector. They insist that most of the skills are transferable to other sectors.
Rosette Komugisha, National Content Lead at TotalEnergies EP Uganda, says the skills being imparted will still be needed at the facilities for between two and five years after production has begun.
The sector has argued that the trained Ugandans could be employed in countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Namibia, which are in the initial stages of infrastructure development. Some Ugandans have found similar jobs in Namibia.
Solomon Ruyonga, National Content Supervisor and head of public relations at Sinopec International Petroleum Service Co.
(Uganda) Ltd says the training and the certificates awarded are certified by international bodies, which is why the graduates can be absorbed in industries worldwide.
Eric Odong, a National Content Officer at PAU, says that application of the skills offered by oil and gas training is not limited to the sector but is easily transferable, vital for national industrialisation.
He says, for example, the government will soon start implementing work on the Standard Gauge Railway, where expert welding and fitting will be required.
Odong says that even in the oil and gas sector, a lot is still ongoing, including the upcoming construction of the refinery as well as the Hoima-Buloba finished products pipeline and terminal, before thinking of going for external opportunities.
He adds that so far, only about 40 percent of the earmarked oil and gas exploration area has been covered, that is, in the four districts, meaning that a bigger part remains, and therefore, training needs to continue.
The whole training Programme targets 836 beneficiaries mainly from the host districts of Bulisa, Kikuube, Hoima, and Nwoya, and so far, 542 have been outed.
Dalia Prince, Head of Projects and Business Development at Sunmaker, says that the oil and gas Industry needs very competitive professionals because it is an international one.
This is the reason the trainees are equipped to go beyond the certificate they get.
He, however, says that jobs are is various companies and industries, while some Ugandan trainees who have been sent out for further skilling have ended up taking opportunities there and not returning.
Out of the current stock of trainees, 43 of the best ones will be taken to China for further skilling and hands-on experience before being deployed at the Tilenga CPF ahead of first oil, according to Daniel Emodu, Training Co-ordinator at Sinopec.
They were flagging off 20 freshers who are part of a total of 210 in the third batch of trainees, at Sunmaker Oil and Gas Training Institute in Kampala, for skills, particularly in CPF pipe fittings.
While industry players insist opportunities will extend beyond construction into production and other sectors, questions remain about whether the sector can absorb the growing number of trainees.
