Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) has entered a five-year partnership to help bring thousands of young people into Ghana’s oil and gas industry.
The west African country is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, largely thanks to increased oil production.
Despite having one of the largest oil reserves in the world, fewer than half of all technical and management positions in the sector are held by Ghanaian companies, with local firms struggling to compete for contracts.
Fiona Stewart-Knight, director of the university’s School for Work Based Education said: “Our pioneering approach to work-based education, delivered from Scotland to Ghana, and our substantial industrial experience across Africa should ensure the Petroleum Commission’s progress in meeting its objectives for upstream oil and gas.”
The university will offer training over the next five years to improve that, with around 1,000 Ghanaians to be taught technical skills each year.
Meanwhile support will also be provided to 200 companies and 300 employees in public institutions.
The work is being done in partnership with the Petroleum Commission of Ghana, as part of its accelerated oil and gas capacity programme.
Chief executive Egbert Faibille Jnr said: “Our hope is that this collaboration with GCU will expedite the implementation of a work-based vocational and apprenticeship programme for a lot of Ghanaian youth.
“We expect many of our youth to sign up to the programme.
“Our Government wants as many of our young people as possible to train for roles in the upstream oil and gas sector and the AOGC is the pipeline to that destination.”
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