In July 2019 five Ghanaian welders were sent to Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), Edmonton, Canada, for a 10 month welding inspector/instructor training course, leading to Canadian Welders Bureau (CWB) and American Welders Association (AWS) certifications award. The training programme was sponsored by Baker Hughes Ghana Limited (BHGL) at a cost of two hundred and fifty thousand United States Dollars (US $250,000), and it was coordinated by Mr. Terry Drabiuk, the President of Corporate Professional Industrial Training (CPI) of Canada. The BHGL scholarship covered all students’ expenses from 2nd July 2019 up to 15th May 2020, the day of graduation, the Petroleum Commission monitored the training programme from inception to completion and ensured that the plan was implemented to meet the initial AOGC objectives, as well as the expectations of the students. Academically, the students did very well; they all passed their Canadian Welders Bureau (CWB) examination and were all certified with Level 1 inspectors and instructors.
The Five Ghanaian Welders in a training session in Canada.
The trainees completed their programmes successfully and have been awarded with CWB and AWS international certifications, which allows them to work in the oil industry and to train other welders. Upon their return to Ghana, arrangements were made by the Commission for them to be attached to the three recognized welding centers in Ghana namely, (Kikam Technical Institute, Takoradi Technical Institute, and Regional Maritime University (RMU), and to initiate training of internationally recognised certified Welders in Ghana. The success of the programme convinced the Commission to advocate and publicize for the training of more welders and other vocations. Accordingly, educational clip and videos were put together to show on national TV to educate the Ghanaian public about the usefulness of having vocational and technical training, and to be able to support the setting up of a welding center in Ghana.