Suriname’s energy sector must align its local content ambitions with the country’s workforce capacity, advises Lourdes Landa Thierry, South America Business Director at Atlas Professionals.
“Local content should be something about developing the country. So it needs to be a gradual implementation of policies.” Her comments were made during an interview on the sidelines of the Suriname Energy Oil and Gas Summit earlier this year.
She contrasted Suriname with other markets. “Countries such as Mexico would not ask you for a certain percentage of locals working offshore; they would consider suppliers, payment of taxes, products and services provided within the country. Other countries such as Venezuela…require 90% workforce based on union agreements.” Guyana, she noted, has “quite strict” compliance rules.
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Thierry said inexperienced recruits, or “green hands”, must be central to Suriname’s strategy. “By having green hands in the country, what you intend to do is develop this workforce and prepare them for the future. The country cannot ask you to have a certain percentage of local content…if you don’t have prepared people to do the job,” she added.
She urged policymakers to separate strategies for experienced professionals and newcomers. “For green hands, you have to first explain [to] them what it is to work within this industry. For talented professionals, you do have to guide their career pathways,” she explained.
Among the best practices, she highlighted trainee programs. “In certain positions…you could have a lead position and a trainee, sort of a shadow, and start developing them that way.”
On balancing compliance with technical needs, Thierry said early-stage markets like Suriname cannot deliver immediate results. “You cannot expect to have highly technical professionals in a market so premature. What you’re looking for is that expert professionals teach the locals, and gradually replace expats by locals,” she added.
Atlas Professionals recently launched a focused initiative to train and certify local talent for roles in Suriname’s offshore industry, being built around the GranMorgu development. The “Greenhands Offshore” program is designed to identify and equip entry-level workers with the skills required for the demanding offshore environment.
The GranMorgu project is currently under development, with first production expected in 2028. SBM Offshore, in partnership with Technip Energies, has secured contracts to build and install a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel.
