By Oscarline Onwuemenyi
ABUJA – The Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Mr. Muttaqua Darma Rabe, has disclosed plans by the Fund to establish a multi-purpose youth training centre in Port Harcourt to enhance the training of Nigerians in the technical services sector of the oil and gas industry.

Rabe who made the disclosure on Thursday at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations Office for Projects Services (UNOPS), in Abuja, explained that the centre is to be established under the Niger Delta Job Creation and Conflict Prevention Initiative.

Rabe noted that recently about 20 local welders were sponsored by the Fund for a Train-the-Trainer component of the Welders’ Training and Certification Programme (WTCP), in South Africa, even as he wondered why such a programme could not take place in Nigeria in spite of the abundance of human and material resources in the country.

He said, “The multi-purpose youth training centre would offer technical and vocational education and training as well as entrepreneurial skills to thousands of youths from the region on a yearly basis.

“Our aim is to enhance the skills and appreciation levels of local trainees for the technical services end of the oil and gas industry, with proper international certification and standardisation ratings, which would enable our trainees to get employment in any industry in any part of the world.”

He noted that the role of UNOPS would be essential towards supporting the Skills acquisition centre to become a United Nations Education Vocation Centre (UNEVOC) with international certification and accreditation capabilities.

“Also, UNOPS can assist the Fund with the development of curriculum for the PTDF skill acquisition centre in Port Harcourt as well as other training centres established by the Fund across the country,” he added.

Rabe further noted the determination of the PTDF to maximize every opportunity to enrich the skills of Nigerians to better position them to take advantage of the newly promulgated Local Content Bill.

He said the capacity building milestone would impact on the fabrication and other technical aspects of the nation’s oil and gas industry.

He noted that the training was in line with the Federal government’s directive which states that starting from 2006 all third party services (NDT, mechanical tests, PWHT,) certification of welding procedures and welders must be carried out in Nigeria.

The Federal government recently directed that the Nigerian Institute of Welding must certify all such tests in collaboration with international accreditation bodies.

According to the PTDF boss, the lack of international certification such as the International Welding Practitioner and the International Welding Specialist certificates had been the major hindrance for Nigerian welders and fabricators who want to operate in the oil and gas industry.

“This phenomenon has led to the influx of the foreign welders and technicians, mainly from the Philippines and even neighbouring West African countries, who have taken over the jobs that could have gone to Nigerians,” he lamented.
He further observed that with the multi-billion dollar projects such as the West African Gas Pipeline project and the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline project, initiated by the Federal Government, there was no better time to train local welders to take advantage of the developments.

Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the PTDF has hailed the passage of the Local Content Bill, stating that it remains the best thing to happen to the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

He added that the Fund had been at the forefront of the campaign to promote the bill, bearing in mind that many Nigerians are trained overseas under the sponsorship of the PTDF come back to the country only to be faced with unemployment.

“Nobody can appreciate the impact of the local content bill more than us in the PTDF. This is because the whole essence of the bill is to widen opportunities for local manpower in the oil and gas industry, and this is why we train people for them to get opportunities to show their skills in our country.

He added that with the local content bill, the era of Nigerians going to expensive colleges’ abroad and coming back home to face joblessness was over for good.

“Now, our young and brilliant graduates would have something to look forward to after their expensive, government-sponsored programmes overseas, which is really good thing,” he added.