The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has unveiled a special Human Capital Development (HCD) Program. NCDMB is set to train more than 10,000 young graduates and technicians in the top 10 high-demand skills in the sector.
Inspired by the resurgence of new projects in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, the board expressed its readiness to equip the next generation of Nigerians with practical skills for top careers in the oil and gas industry.
According to NCDMB’s Executive Secretary, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, the initiative will help to aid the active participation of Nigerian youths in the oil and gas projects recently launched by some international and indigenous operating oil and gas companies.
Announcing the “Oil and Gas Field Readiness Training Program,” Omatsola confirmed that the initiative will close skill gaps extracted from the review of applications for Expatriate Quotas by industry operators.
The top career paths were equally identified from engagements with key industry stakeholders, including Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS), and Petroleum Contractors Trade Section (PCTS).
He disclosed that NCDMB depends on its knowledge of the portfolios of major upcoming projects and considered reports of previous skill gaps research conducted by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF).
The top-10 skills for the Field Readiness Program are: Sub-sea Engineers (wellheads, flowlines, umbilicals, sub-sea trees, etc.); Underwater Welders; Control and Automation Engineers (including cementing, well controls, and rig operations); Helicopter Pilots; Seamen/Sailors (including vessel mechanics/electricians); Production and Maintenance Engineers (Control Room Operators, Maintenance Crew); QA/QC Engineers (including NDT Levels 1,2, and 3); Geoscience Engineers (including Seismic, Geophysics, Wellsite Geology, etc.) and Digitization and Digitalization (AI, ML, IoT, Big Data, Cloud Computing, Drones, etc.)
This program is only open to participants aged below 35 years, who possess an OND/HND/BSC in Petroleum, Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, Civil, Gas, Welding and Metallurgy.
Other applicable fields are Geology, Geophysics, Computer Sciences/ Engineering and other science-related disciplines.
Omatsola concluded by saying that NCDMB’s efforts is informed by Section 10(1b) of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010, which stipulates that “Nigerians shall be given first consideration for training and employment in the work programme for which the Nigerian Content Plan was submitted by an industry operator.”
