Recounting its interventions in capacity building, human development and financial assistance for entrepreneurs for positive development, Total, in 2015 partnered with eight banks to fund local contractors with N1 billion each.
Although the oil giant did not mention the names and number of the contractors, the intervention did not work out well since the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Bank of Industry (BoI) scheme became a cheaper option.
Total E&P Nigeria Limited, General Manager, Partners, Authorities and Nigerian Content, Mrs Ivana Akaraiwe made this known as a panelist at the ongoing 5th Sub Saharan African International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (SAIPEC) organized by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PTAN).
The topic was “Showcasing Africa’s Local Content Progress Challenges Future Development, Strategies, and IOC Perspective”.
The panel moderator Mr. Emeka Ene had put a question to her from another panelist asking hope the company was not leaving its trainees to become menace to the society due to lack of complete assistance package?
General Manager said: “We don’t want as Lanre mentioned, if we train them and leave them, they become menace in the environment, which we don’t want to happen.
“If we equip these youths through training and also capacity building. It enables them become positive contributors to the society.
“I also want to add here that on project funding, in 2015, we entered into partnership with eight Nigerian banks to provide funding for our local contractors.
“This did not work out very well. We had about N1 billion each that we had put in place for each of our contractors. But we found out that the NCDMB and BoI option was much cheaper for them.”
According to her, Total is commencing a project that its infrastructural development will impact positively on so many Nigerian youths.
Although Akaraiwe did not disclose the project, she noted that Total will operate a technical college, where it will train the youths.
“At the back of one of our project which I will not like to say the project name right now, infrastructural development is going to impact on whole lot of youths as we try to operate with a technical college where these youths will be trained,” she said.
She recounted how the company operated in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From the challenge, she said a lot of opportunities have emerged.
She said often times opportunities do not present themselves as opportunities, at times they present themselves as problems.
“At a time like this we need some levels of ingenuity to cease the opportunities and remain afloat as individuals to accomplish it.
“I was happy to see the result of the pool which says that most people are eagles. Eagles see opportunities when they are in a situation like the COVID-19,” she said.
She recalled that owing to the pandemic, the company implemented a staggered team that was based on the Presidential Steering Committee.
Sometime last year, according to her, “we had 20 per cent workforce working out of the office and we ended up at 50 per cent.
“As at today we have 50 per cent workforce is back to the office with the introduction of vaccination”.
She said Total has assisted trainees to succeed completely, she said :”We had some trainees that were assigned to a catering company. I know that there is a trainee, I don’t really know the trainnee’ company. Right now he runs the fast food in the Niger Delta because with the structured HDT training it is no longer just entering level.
“We put them on the back of our contractor to learn about catering. With the training we added to the curriculum they have been able to set up their own businesses after they come out of this training program.
“Total also has the Total stop upper challenge where we have youths who come into a challenge and we give them funds to set up their businesses.
“We have skills acquisition and carreer Programme for carreer advancement for youths. They come in and we train them. We tutor them on how to plan their carrier even when they go through the skill acquisition”.
