Government's Accelerated Oil and Gas Capacity (AOGC) programme established to enhance the capacity of Ghanaians to enable them to work in the Oil and Gas sector, has shortlisted five Ghanaian youth.

The shortlisted persons are headed to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Canada, to receive specialised training in upstream welding to boost their skill set in the Oil and Gas sector.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Petroleum Commission, Mr Egbert Faibille,  on Thursday, July 3, 2019, presented the five candidates to President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House ahead of their departure from Ghana on the 13th of July, 2019 to begin their studies.

In his brief address at the meeting, Mr Faibille said the development constitutes the beginning of greater participation of Ghanaians in the Oil and Gas Sector and for that matter the upstream industry.

"These five young men who have been selected and are leaving Ghana on the 13th day of July, 2019 to train in the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Canada, for a year at no cost to them or their parents but because of the benevolence of a partner company known in Ghana as Baker Hughes GE," Mr. Faibille said.

Beneficiaries

The Petroleum Commission CEO further pointed out that the AOGC beneficiaries after their training will return to Ghana to train other young people who are interested in upstream welding in order to develop further the capacity of more young people for their possible engagement by players in the oil and gas sector. The five candidates are James Bewiekah, Micheal Atobah, Abdul Rahman Dagankrah, Bright Oduro and Joseph Ghunney.

Mr. Faibille indicated that the first two were selected from the Kikam Technical Institute. The other two were chosen from the Jubilee Technical Training Centre at the Takoradi Technical University and the last from Kumasi Suame Magazin who holds a degree in Public Relations but decided to take to welding which landed him in Suame Magazin until the AOGC team discovered him during their search mission.

President Akufo-Addo

President Akufo Addo, when he addressed the delegation could not hide his delight at the news that the AOGC has hit the ground running on its mandate to develop the capacity of Ghanaians for strategic participation in the oil and gas space.

He registered his sincere thanks to Baker Hughes GE, the company that is partnering with the Petroleum Commission on the AOGC Programme, for their selflessness in supporting efforts to get Ghanaians equipped with requisite skills in the upstream industry. He charged the five beneficiaries to take full advantage of the opportunity they have been given to learn all they can while in Canada.

The AOGC

The AOGC was established in November 2017 with the intent to enhance the capacity of Ghanaians to enable them to work in the Oil and Gas sector. The program will be in effect for 5 years and aims to train individuals in various technical and vocational areas, build the capacity of educational institutions to be able to train students and provide internationally recognized training certificates, provide business and management training for SMEs, and to ensure the continuous professional development of employees of various public institutions connected to the Oil and Gas industry.

The objectives of the program are as follows: Ensure the creation of jobs and professional integration pathways, facilitate capacity building of educational and training institutes, invest in education and skills enhancement, minimize the cost of training, localize training, improve quality of education/training, empower local companies to actively participate in the Oil and Gas industry, train Ghanaians in high job-creating sectors (welding, pipe fitting, fabrication and installation, etc.), and to encourage women’s participation in the AOGC.