Technical, vocational centres vital to strengthening labour force

GUYANA’S ability to service the nascent oil and gas sector and spill-off economic activities with the requisite expertise and skillsets, hinges on the increased utilisation of technical and vocational training centres which are accredited by reputable institutions or authorities. A business-friendly climate, supplemented by the anticipated economic ascension, has served as a magnet for investors, both foreign and local. And, while this augurs well for the nation, it has exposed a deficiency in the labour force, which is viewed as underprepared to service the potential economic activities, especially those related to the oil and gas sector. Guyana, with a population of just over 750,000, has focussed mainly on primary production in traditional sectors over the years, but this new attention has created unprecedented opportunities for the nation and its people.

Outgoing Canadian High Commissioner, Lilian Chatterjee, had said that Guyana lacks a skilled and sizeable labour force to service the “explosive” oil-linked growth that is coming.
“You are already witnessing an influx of global political leaders and investors who want to do business in Guyana. Get ready. This is just the beginning. But, that [skilled] workforce does not exist right now in Guyana. You do not have the population yet to be the engine of your rapid growth,” said Chatterjee. In the absence of the requisite skillset, the diplomat said Guyana will have to accept a foreign labour force while it works on developing local capacity to absorb the unprecedented growth the country is expected to undergo. Local stakeholders have accepted this reality, but, naturally, the road to development must start somewhere. And, Chairman of the Council forTechnical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and the Board of Industrial Training (BIT), Clinton Williams, believes that this ‘journey’ must start with investments in, and the utilisation of, more technical institutes.

“We need to ensure that we develop a capacity to generate the wide range of skills that are needed on a continuous basis. This means that we must have the physical capacity and the human resources to produce these skillsets, which must be certified by accredited international institutions. “This can best be realised via an accelerated training of trainers programme utilising all available technical and vocational institutions and outsourcing of training resources and personnel,” said Williams in an invited comment on Wednesday. Vocational Technical Education (VTE) is a type of education that prepares people to work in various jobs, such as trade, craft or technician. Vocational technical education is sometimes referred to as career education or technical education. Some of the main occupational skills required in the oil and gas sector include welding in different positions, types and under water; under water escape; and environmental and occupational safety and health.

Guyanese-owned Oilfield Services Company TOTALTEC has already announced that it will be injecting US$2.4 million (over G$516 million) into its International Petroleum and Maritime Academy (IPMA) to improve its capacity, amidst Guyana’s growing oil-and-gas sector. The plan is to invest US$1.8 million into Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET) and other offshore-related training facilities, while an additional US$600,000 will be invested into working capital. This is, however, just one facility offering such training. And, Williams believes that Guyana needs to respond to the increasing opportunities by having more requisite facilities (similar to TOTALTEC to train persons and hone their skills. One positive sign in this regard, has been the Government’s announcement of its intention to establish a world-class petroleum institute and training centre in Guyana. The Government, having recognised this shortfall, has started discussions on having a world-class petroleum institute in Guyana, very soon. “It will not only provide training for Guyanese, but for human resource in the oil and gas sector across the region,” said President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, in a recent report. It is Williams’ view that facilities must, however, be supplemented by the right attitude to respond to the growing demand for labour and skills. “Guyana needs to ensure that it has the human resources and develop an attitude to respond with the requisite skills and competencies to align with the new norms which demand the right attitude for the jobs….local authorities need to be ISO certified and our people need to possess the right attitude, skill and knowledge competencies,” Williams reasoned.

TARGETED PROGRAMMES

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman of TOTALTEC, Lars Mangal, advised too that in order to better service and support the domestic oil and gas sector with a higher degree of local labour force participation, there must be programmes which are targeted at young people. Mangal, an oil and gas expert, said: “The emerging oil and gas sector will offer a wide range of opportunities, but certain areas, especially in operations, these positions will require candidates to start at basic levels which would be considered apprentice labour or operator positions. “It is important to understand that the vast majority of positions in operations will be offshore in a marine environment particularly in the early phases and prior to onshore support operations being more progressively developed and served from Guyana.” While the facilities which offer such specialised training are not abundant, he advised persons to participate in outreach programmes administered by international and local companies in the sector.

Persons need to constantly be on the lookout for advertisements related to training opportunities from companies like Schlumberger, Guyana Shore Base Inc, Baker Hughes, Halliburton and TOTALTEC. Mangal was frank that operational positions in oil and gas will not suit every individual, but many opportunities beyond operations will emerge as the sector develops for functions of support, finance, human resources, procurement and so forth. Participation in those activities is critical, but more pertinent is access to ‘equal’ opportunities. And, already Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, has advocated for locals working in the oil-and-gas sector to receive wages that are on par with their foreign counterparts. The minister said he is of the belief that locals in the oil-and-gas sector, when functioning in the same capacity as foreigners, should be paid the same wages, as they would be carrying out the same functions.

EQUAL PAY
“In my engagement with the oil companies, I was clear as crystal, making two points to them. One, equal pay must be for equal work; if you bring in expatriates to do work, once they are doing the same job like a Guyanese, the Guyanese must be paid the same wages like them. We cannot have you paying five and ten times more to an expatriate than a Guyanese,” the Labour Minister said. Outside of the oil and gas sector, information shared with this publication shows that the hotel developers, who acquired private land, will create close to 3,000 direct jobs through their collective US$640 million investment. There will also be indirect jobs and opportunities which would accrue to not only individuals, but also companies and small businesses. But, critical in the advancement of those investments will be local content, because, while the opportunities will be there, it is left to the investors to hire Guyanese to “do the job”. Most of the investments are from indigenous companies, but excuses in the past — while not from these investors — have been about Guyanese lacking the expertise to function effectively. This notion has since been cast out by officials, who have time and again said that more Guyanese are qualifying themselves.

Head of the Department of Economics at the University of Guyana, Sydney Armstrong, has been one advocate for local content to be on the front burner of every investment made in Guyana. This increased attention that Guyana’s economy is witnessing is not unique, as it was observed in countries like Trinidad and Tobago, Nigeria, Ghana and even Suriname, where there have been discoveries of major oil resources. “What you find is, generally, in countries which have discovered oil and gas, you would see a lot of businesses coming to their doorsteps… oil and gas is a lot of money and businesses are going to try to get in on that money,” said Armstrong during a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle. But Guyana, unlike other countries, has other lucrative resources like land, minerals, fresh water and other things which are very attractive to investors.

CONDUIT FOR GROWTH
So, as Guyana prepares to absorb those opportunities and attention, Armstrong advises that the country must develop a local content policy, to serve as not just a safeguard, but as a conduit for persons to capitalise on the potential opportunities. “The local content policy needs to specify in terms of components of labour, especially when we talk about massive hotels… Guyanese must be able to benefit from the construction process and also be a part of not just lower levels of the general operations, but also be managers, supervisors and so on,” said the economist. A Government-appointed Local Content Panel comprising Shyam Nokta (chair), Carl Greenidge, Anthony Paul, Kevin Ramnarine, Carvil Duncan and Floyd Haynes, had recently handed over their report to Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat. President Ali has since confirmed that work is underway to analyse the report and create a draft local content policy.