OMNI Helicopters has welcomed its first two Guyanese pilots, Yadram Ramcharran and Somant Heerelall, who have completed training to support offshore oil and gas operations in Guyana.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony held on Thursday, Gerry Gouveia Jr., Director of OMNI Helicopters, said the event marked the first time locals have been trained specifically for the sector.
“For the very first time, Guyana has sent two locals to do helicopter training specifically to work in the oil and gas environment,” he told the gathering. “We will train local Guyanese to do the engineering, to do the piloting, and I’m proud to say, to do the rear crew and search and rescue,” he added.
Sean Western, OMNI’s Country Manager, explained that the company has been growing steadily since launching operations in January 2023. “We initially started operations with a small team of local staff, and today our local team has now grown to 75 people, making up 65% of our total workforce in Guyana,” he said.
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Alistair Routledge, President of ExxonMobil Guyana, reminded the audience of the risks involved in offshore aviation. “Every time I go on that helicopter, we recognize in our business and the offshore oil and gas, it is one of the highest risk activities in our operations,” he said. “It is a huge responsibility that you take as pilots and as the technicians looking after these aircraft.”
Routledge added that ExxonMobil’s long-term contracts with OMNI are linked to the scale of investment needed to build a local aviation workforce.
“This can’t be a one-year, let’s go back out to bid, two-year, let’s go back out to bid contract. It needs to reflect the investment that’s required to build up the business, to bring the right technology, to invest in people, so that this becomes a Guyanese business,” he said.
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Egbert Fields, Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), said the progress provides motivation for young professionals. “The young ones will be looking at you. The next generation of aviation professionals will be looking at you as the target, as something that they can aspire towards,” he said. Fields pledged the GCAA’s continued support. “I believe in walking hand in hand with the operation, that’s the only way we’ll be able to set up indications,” he added.
The ceremony also recognized OMNI’s engineering apprentices and rear crew trainees, who were present alongside families and industry partners.
