Training initiatives for Guyana’s oil and gas sector have seen an investment of US$8.6 million, according to the recently released Mid-Year Report from the Ministry of Finance.
Labor scarcity in Guyana’s market is a known issue, especially in the oil and gas sector. And the government has been pushing for heavy capacity building to bridge the gap.
Companies like SBM Offshore, builder of oil production vessels operating in Guyana, offer several career opportunities. Seven graduate engineers from the university were recruited by the company to be trained abroad for placement on the Prosperity floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. The seven young Guyanese—five men and two women— traveled to the Netherlands and Singapore as part of an 18-month training program. In the Netherlands, they worked with the team on the design of the Prosperity FPSO, while in Singapore, got firsthand experience on the vessel. Following the completion of the training, the graduates were awarded official placements within the company.
SBM Offshore, ExxonMobil and the government also collaborated on the Guyana Technical Training College Inc. (GTTCI) project. The first phase, a simulator for FPSOs, was commissioned in February at Port Mourant. The second phase aims to equip Guyanese for jobs in the booming hospitality sector with industry-standard training akin to the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited also has a similar program, offering scholarships for petroleum engineering and geoscience.
Exxon along with Hess and CNOOC, through the Greater Guyana Initiative (GGI) supports training and capacity building initiatives. GGI in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Council for Technical and Vocational Education Training (C-TVET), and LearnCorp International, recently launched Phase II of its technical and vocational training program across Guyana.
The Local Content Secretariat (LCS) also engaged with eight technical institutes for a three-month paid internship program. It targets 100 interns being placed in over 25 companies in the sector. According to the Report, more than 45 students have already been assigned.
Mid-year data also show that 6,500 Guyanese are gainfully employed in the oil sector.
“While the total number of Guyanese employed by these companies now stands at 4,467, it has been estimated that the total number of Guyanese working in the oil industry is approximately 6,500,” the report stated.
A total of 454 new hires were logged within 40 specific areas.
