The Petroleum Commission is confident the launched Ghana Upstream Sector Internship Program (GUSIP) would help bridge the skills gap in the oil and gas industry to the benefit of the economy.

Many industry players have expressed concerns about the lack of personnel with the requisite technical skills set for the development of the industry.

Human Capital Manager for the Petroleum Commission Edward Appiah-Brafo explains to JOY BUSINESS the Internship Program should boost job-creation opportunities in the sector.

According to him, the commission also has some concerns regarding number of people taking management courses and said “it is infact a big concern for the commission and the commission has stepped up its communication efforts in educating Ghanaians that the alacrity with which they go and pursue oil and gas management courses or anything management with oil and gas attached to it is not the antidote to the shortage of skills in the industry.”

Mr. Appiah-Brafo spoke with JOY BUSINESS at the maiden application assessment of candidates for the Ghana Upstream Sector Internship Program where about 200 successful graduates are to be selected for internship in the upstream oil and gas sector after the assessment.

To emphasise his point that the industry needs a lot more technical personnel as opposed to those with management backgrounds, he indicated that “the people that are here are not writing for management positions. They are writing for technical and entry level positions like supply chain, procurement, logistics, petroleum engineering, geoscience, oil and gas accounting, etc. and these are all at the entry level.”

About 200 successful candidates would be given first-hand training in oil companies in the country and beef up their training and capacity building efforts. The programme is aimed at creating and boosting employment opportunities in the oil and gas sector.