OGTAN Berates ‘Portfolio’Trainers in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry

Ejiofor Alike

The Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN) has berated those it described as portfolio trainers in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, saying that people who just walk into oil companies and invite trainers to organise training and walk away do not deepen local content development and should be discouraged.

OGTAN has also insisted that only the local training of Nigerian oil workers would guarantee local content development in the oil and gas industry.

The group said in a statement at the weekend that the domestication of oil and gas trainees would save the country billions of dollars and create more jobs opportunities for Nigerians

OGTAN’s Director of Media Communications, Mr John Itua quoted the President of OGTAN, Dr. Afe Mayowa as saying that if majority of oil and gas training is done locally, it would address issues of foreign exchange challenges confronting the sector.

“There is need to standardise training to get more value; training should be domesticated to handle issues that are peculiar to our environment and generate adequate human capital for our oil and gas industry even enough for export because training is key to local content development. We want to discourage portfolio trainers – people who just walk into companies to organise trainings; invite trainers and after that, walk away,” Mayowa explained.

Mayowa explained that OGTAN, which has a vision to develop a Nigerian oil and gas training business group that interfaces with the operators, international organisations and government, to ensure a total human capacity development in the industry and the attainment of the Nigerian content goals, was formed with the support of the Nigerian Content Division of the NNPC to address the manpower development needs of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

“lf majority of oil and gas trainees is done locally in Nigeria it would address issues of foreign exchange challenges confronting the sector. The issues of dollars denomination should be address through should local domestication of companies. Government agencies, Institutions, International Oil and gas companies should partners with OGTAN to invest in developing trainers in-country,’’ he added.

OGTAN issued the statement to sensitise stakeholders on the forthcoming inauguration of the OGTAN’S national executive council slated to hold in April 13 at Eko Hotel and Suites.

The inauguration will have the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) as the Guest Speaker;