18 NEW VISION, Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Govt to help private institutions
obtain oil and gas accreditation
From page 17
he huge cost associated
T
with international
standards certification for
oil and gas workers is still
posing a big roadblock for
Ugandans with training
in oil and gas.
Authorities have
noted that a number of Ugandans have
been trained by private institutions but
cannot be considered because they lack
international accreditation It costs about
$300,000 (about sh1.1b for an institution
to be accredited.
However, according to the head of
skills development at the Private Sector
Foundation Uganda (PSFU), Ruth
Biyinzika Musoke, interventions to have
accreditation centres domesticated are
underway.
She said several training institutions
have applied to the Skills Development
Fund (SDF) secretariat seeking assistance
to become international accreditation
centres.
Musoke said once the country has
several accreditation centres, it will be
easy to register a big number of qualified
workers.
The SDF is an intervention by the
education ministry and development
partners, through the PSFU, to address
the skills gap. The intention, according
to Musoke, is to have students at these
institutions graduate with the required
certified documents.
“Selection is underway to determine
what institution will be assisted,” she said.
Biyinzika said they will consider
institutions with better training facilities, a
big number of students and those with the
financial muscle.
“We are selecting training institutions
that will benefit from international
accreditation for oil and gas institutions,
which will work according to standards,”
Musoke said.
She added that institutions which qualify
shall be announced in May after selection.
Biyinzika said Q-Sourcing, a private oil
and gas skilling firm, has received about
$700,000 (sh2.6b) to procure mobile
trucks for training and certification
through the SDF.
FUNDING
The SDF funding is from the World Bank
and Enabel, a Belgian development agency.
The PSFU was selected to implement the
project on behalf of the finance ministry.
The World Bank allocated $18m (sh67b)
for the project.
SDF mainly finances costs associated with
development and delivery of the supported
training activities such as agriculture,
construction and manufacturing, auto
mechanics and the oil and gas sector.
According to Musoke, about 45,000
people have benefited from the project so
far through training, 30% of them women
and 70% men.
She said in May the SDF management
will advertise at the different media
platforms inviting training institutions to
apply for oil and gas accreditation grants.
EDUCATION MINISTRY TAKE
James Mugerwa, the education ministry
assistant commissioner in charge
of vocational education, said such
interventions are aimed at increasing
participation of Ugandans.
OIL & GAS
Musoke (left), flanked by Mugerwa and Enabel’s skills development fund manager, Christine Karungi, during a press
briefing held at the education ministry in Kampala last week. Photo by Shamim Saad
Available opportunities
The 2013 Industrial Baseline
Survey (IBS) indicated that a total
of 160,000 jobs will be created in
the oil and gas sector.
The IBS was conducted by oil
companies, which include CNOOC,
Total and Tullow Oil.
Of the total number of jobs, 39%
will be people with basic skills
and entry level, 38% trades and
crafts, 17% technicians, while 6%
will be for graduate engineers and
managers.
Petroleum Authority of Uganda
broke down occupational
areas with the highest number
of predicted jobs by level of
qualification — levels one, two,
three and four.
At level one for basic skills,
3,902 civil engineering and related
labourers will be employed, 1,071
hospitality and catering personnel,
915 security guards, 645 drilling
rig and related labourers. A
total of 2,018 field production
personnel will be required.
At level two, which is for
trades and craftsmen,
3,112 civil engineers, 1,810
drivers, 1,230 welders,
701 scaffolding, 636
mechanical technicians
and related trades will be
needed.
At level three, 722
mechanical technicians,
465 instrumentation
technicians, 314 persons
With several
accredited
c e n t r e s ,
Mugerwa said
the country will
have opened
doors to many
in logistics and supply chain
management will be needed. Other
required workforce at this level
include 280 electrical technicians
and 187 drilling rig technicians.
Level four, which is mainly
for managers, will need 340
civil/structural engineers, 152
mechanical engineers, 121 control
centre operators, 112 geologists
and 103 maintenance engineers.
ADDITIONAL JOBS
The Government recently identified
29,250 additional jobs in the
sector. This is 20% more than the
baseline figure.
Majority of the additional jobs will
go to level one, with an estimated
11,551 new jobs.
The additional jobs are contained
in the in the Workforce Skills
Development Strategy and Plan
(WSDSP) for the oil and gas
sector for the country.
The strategy was developed
by the energy ministry
in partnership with the
education ministry and
the World Bank through
the Albertine Region
Sustainable Development
Project (ARSDP).
The strategy and plan was
launched on November 15,
2018 by President
Yoweri Museveni at
Boma grounds in
Hoima.
Ugandans who would love
to work in the lucrative oil
and gas sector.
“We have three public
and private institutions
that are internationally
accredited. But with SDF
funding, the numbers will increase,”
Mugerwa said.
For instance, he said the Uganda
Petroleum Institute, Kigumba (UPIK)
recently became a City and Guilds centre
for artisan training in the country.
Despite the strides, Mugerwa said UPIK
admits a specific number of students
annually, which calls for more centres to be
established in the country.
UPIK was established in 2009 with the
aim of training personnel in petroleum-
related skills at certificate, diploma and
later undergraduate level.
UPIK had its first admissions in 2010 with
only 30 students enrolled that year, despite
its modern equipment, worth billions of
shillings for wielding, joinery, metal works
and metal fabrications, among others for
oil and gas training.
However, on average, the institution
only attracts about 30 applicants annually
below the 50 students target, for a diploma
in petroleum engineering, the only course
that the institution offers.
CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE
In addition, Mugerwa said his ministry has
shortlisted six public training institutions,
including UPIK, that will be internationally
accredited and certified.
The institutions, dubbed centres of
excellence, include Bukalasa Agricultural
College, Uganda Technical Colleges (UTC)
in Mbale, Bushenyi, Lira and Kichwamba,
with an intension of transforming them
into centres of excellence.
The education ministry has since signed a
number of partnerships with international
training institutions that include Coventry
University in Britain, Dalhousie University
and SFERE from Canada to equip Ugandan
tutors with knowledge on oil and gas skill
training.
These will enhance training of tutors in
agriculture, manufacturing, construction,
tourism and hospitality, with focus on oil
and gas training.
“With the many centres, the education
ministry will be able to address the
capacity gaps in the oil and gas sector,”
Mugerwa said.