By Abisola THOMPSON
The Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN) has again harped on the importance of human capital development in Nigeria’s oil and industry.
Dr Mayowa Afe, the President of OGTAN, said this in Lagos on Thursday during their pre-conference briefing that in the absence of substantial investment in the development of human capital in any country, sustained economic growth and development would only be a mere wish.
According to him, “Human capital development is a key prerequisite for a country’s socio-economic and political transformation. Among the generally agreed causal factors responsible for the impressive performance of the economy of most developed countries is an impressive commitment to human capital development.”
Hence, he said the lack of adequate human capital development in Nigerian Oil and Gas sector necessitated the theme of the forthcoming OGTAN Annual International Conference titled: “Human Capital Development as a Driver for National Transformation”.
Afe said that human capital development is undoubtedly the pivot for any meaningful programme of economic development of Nigeria and indeed of any country, adding that practitioners and social researchers understand the essence of human capital development in the achievement of significant and sustainable economic growth and development.
“Petroleum sector contributes the highest revenue to Nigeria’s GDP but suffers a dearth of skilled personnel for sophisticated roles as the traditional educational curriculum hasn’t sufficiently accommodated the demands of the highly-skilled industry.
“Part of the objectives of OGTAN has been to identify ways by which Nigeria’s human capital can be improved via training and retraining in order to significantly contribute to the growth of in-country value retention in the oil and gas sector, which leads to enhancing peoples’ livelihoods and overall quality of life. These indicators translate to positive impact on nation building and national development.
“At this second annual conference, discussions shall revolve around sub themes like: “Unlocking Nigeria’s Potential through Comprehensive Human Capital Development”; “Management and Integration of Human Capital for Africa’s Development”; “Technology and Knowledge Transfer through International Collaboration”; “the Role of Government and Private Sector”; and “Development of Africa’s Certification and Standardisation Scheme: Possibilities,”he said.
The OGTAN’s president said that the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has projected that 14 billion dollars out of the 20 billion dollars spending in shipyards and manufacturing in the oil sector, would be retained in Nigeria by 2027.
He said that the human capital development is at the core of our 10-year strategic plan.
According to him, the Nigeria oil and gas sector will be a catalyst for the industrialisation of the Nigerian oil and gas industry and its linkage sectors in the next 10 years.
According to him, Increase local content level in the oil and gas industry from 26 per cent to 70 per cent by 2027 and also double the value domiciled in the Nigerian oil and gas industry by 2027.”
He said that research and development (R&D) is the backbone of a globally competitive, knowledge-driven economy, adding that R&D investment helps develop new products and services that drive growth, create jobs, and improve the national welfare.
He called for more collaboration between the academia and the oil and gas industry on research, to attract investments into country.
He stressed the need for the country to develop and adopt research and development structures that will create opportunities in the industry through risk reduction and production costs.
He said that OGTAN would accelerate skills development in the industry, in order to keep pace with changing environment globally.
According to him, research must be prioritised in order to keep up with developmental changes in the world.
Afe said that the body is working on a couple of projects to encourage researchers in oil and gas and the academia.
Mayowa said that some of the projects were categorised as member companies, in line with international standards, issuance of guidelines for standardisation of training and the establishment of a National Occupation Standard (NOS).
He said that the projects were in conjunction with the NCDMB in fostering collaboration between regulatory bodies, the academia and the oil and gas industry, to help close the gap between the ivory towers and the practical aspects of the oil and gas industry.
The maiden edition had petroleum industry stakeholders in attendance. The academia, training institutions, international government delegates and relevant regulatory bodies weren’t left out. Dr Oby Ezekwesili delivered the keynote address.
The vision of OGTAN is to establish a Nigerian Oil and Gas Training Business Group responsible for articulating and advancing Human Capacity Development in the Oil & Gas Industry and protecting the interest of member-companies and stakeholders on issues of common interests.
OGTAN is the independent umbrella Group of Training Services Providers in the Oil and Gas Sector established by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board in 2010, representing the Education and Training Sectorial Group of the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF) under Section 58 of the NOGICD Act (2010), with the purpose to build local human capital capacity in the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry and act as a business group that interfaces with Operators, International Organizations and the Nigerian government
