President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo has commended five beneficiaries who successfully underwent one-year training in stainless steel welding at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Canada last year under the Accelerated Oil and Gas Capacity Programme (AOGC).
Funded by Baker Hughes, a GE company, the one-year course was at an estimated cost of $250,000.
During a courtesy call on the presidency yesterday, to present the graduates, President Akufo Addo expressed his appreciation towards the successful completion of their training.
“Be beneficial to the people of Ghana and ensure that you transfer the knowledge acquired during your training. With your certification, I am optimistic that you will train more Ghanaians as a way of promoting local content to support the upstream oil industry. There will soon be a demand for your services when activities with the upstream sector picks up”. President Nana Addo remarked.
Also commending Ghana’s Upstream Regulator, Petroleum Commission for the initiative, he encouraged more companies within the industry to support specialized areas of training.
Recounting, the process which led to the choice of the beneficiaries to undergo the training, the Minister of Energy, John Peter Amewu noted that more of such training is needed to grow the country’s upstream sector. He congratulated all the entities who played a role in their training.
Sponsoring the beneficiaries was our commitment towards skill development. Managing Director of Baker Hughes GE, Ghana Mrs. Oghogho Dixon said.
“We at Baker Hughes are happy with the feat achieved by the beneficiaries. As a company, we liaised with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT)and monitored the progress of the students during their training and impressed with their efforts. We are proud that Ghana has a future in stainless steel welding for the upstream sector”.
In an interview with Petcomm Update, the beneficiaries enumerated three major indicators comprising dedication, hard work and commitment on their part during their studies. This they say, was in a bid to improve their skills to meet demands within the country’s upstream sector.