The Kumasi Institute of Technology Energy and Environment (KITE), an NGO with interest in the energy sector, has launched an oil and gas career guide to help job seekers in the new industry to make informed choices.
The publication, “A Career Guide to the Oil and Gas Industry in Ghana”, was developed and published with the support of STAR-Ghana, also a development NGO, under its programme Strengthening Transparency, Accountability and Responsiveness in Ghana.
The guide would provide accurate information on job types and prospects in the oil and gas industry, as well as the general entry requirements for a range of careers in the industry.
The discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities in Ghana has resulted in the average Ghanaian within the economically active age bracket (the unemployed youth, experienced professionals working in other sectors of the economy, students in secondary and tertiary institutions) aspiring for a job in the fledgling industry.
According to the Director of KITE, Mr Ishmael Edjekumhene, the craze for jobs in the petroleum industry has, among other things, resulted in the mushrooming of a number of oil and gas training institutions across the country, each offering or promising prospective trainees the requisite skills and competencies that would enable them secure employment in the industry.
Estimates from Tullow Oil indicate that total direct employment from the Jubilee Field oil project (the first major oil development and production project in Ghana) will be less than 800 in the entire life of the project.
Mr Edjekumhene said the fact that job opportunities will not be anywhere close to the levels expected by Ghanaians makes it imperative that informed career decisions are made to avoid disappointments.
“The career guide is targeted primarily at students at the secondary and tertiary levels, educators, teachers, career/employment counsellors and parents. Professionals seeking or planning career changes will also find this guide an invaluable resource. It is our hope that users /readers would be empowered either to reach their goals of finding jobs and building successful careers in the petroleum industry or decide not to venture at all into the industry if it becomes clear that they are not cut out for careers in the petroleum industry”.
The career guide, which is divided into five main parts gives an overview of the range of occupations in the industry, and their educational and training pathways.
The acting Director of Tertiary Division at the Ministry of Education, Mr Donnan Tay, at a ceremony in Accra to launch the oil and gas career guide, lauded the initiative by KITE and said that the government desired such public-private partnerships.
He added that the ministry had positioned itself to carry out oil and gas programmes, and cited the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Accra and Takoradi Polytechnics as institutions positioned to do oil and gas programmes.
“The Council of Technical Education and Vocational Training has been empowered to do skill development in the oil and gas industry and funds are available for accessing. I believe the guide will assist the ministry in its policy initiative and the overall ongoing restructuring of the education sector”.
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