Nd gas local content policy

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t a s l . t d t a s y s d o d e y needs. It should facilitate awareness sessions to keep Guyanese up to date on development and publish varying statistics.

“There should be a discussion on the tiers of suppliers’ development plan and by category. There should be a clear plan of action by Government to directly or indirectly support the development of the capacity of local businesses, as well as providing suitable infrastructure to ensure that companies can participate in the oil industry in a competitive manner. There should be an emphasis placed on ensuring the relevant standards and certifications are made readily accessible to Guyanese businesses. A plan of action in this regard should be clearly delineated,” the chamber stressed.

Other suggestions encompass the inclusion of a “domestic-only tenure list” which would identify those commodities for which Guyana’s local industry holds a comparative advantage.

“Those industries should be ring-fenced for provision by Guyanese companies [even as] there should be escape clauses…to ensure that no entity is perpetually bounded by the Guyanese company,” they advise.

The final suggestions on the policy emanating from the chamber relate to the development of the capacity of individuals.

The policy, they argue, should ensure that there is a bridge with the national development strategy to address certifications, skill transferal and training.

It has been suggested that the University of Guyana or an Institute in the University conduct certification courses which link to international bodies which perform certification of workers for oil industry.

Noting that there are skills in the industry which can only be acquired via ‘learning by doing’ the chamber has called for a deliberate and explicit plan for skill transferal and development of the indigenous capacity needs to be articulated in the local content policy. These could include suitable apprenticeship or understudy-type programmes.

Finally the chamber has called for a deliberate effort by government to engage in Labour Market Information Analysis (LMIA) so as to align the educational institutions with the forecast demand for skills.