A two week workshop on policy development for the establishment of the proposed Ghana Welding Bureau took place at the premises of the Commission’s Head Office in Accra earlier today.
The objective of the workshop is to develop a policy framework leading to the establishment of an institute that would certify welders locally with a Ghana specific yet internationally recognised certification and accreditation system.
Opening the session, Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Egbert Faibille Jnr., commended the committee on work carried out so far; this he believes will change the welding narrative in Ghana.
He added that the Commission in collaboration with Aker Energy is seeking to construct a national welding and pipe-fitting centre of excellence at the Takoradi Technical University to ensure that standardization is adhered to. “I am optimistic that in the next 5-10 years, activities in the country’s upstream space will constitute local welders with internationally recognised certification”. The CEO noted.
A Consultant with the Accelerated Oil and Gas Capacity Programme (AOGC) and Chairman of the Committee, Dr. Paul Frempong said “this welding policy meeting will yield fruitful deliberations towards the establishment of the welding bureau to make the space competitive since welding is essential in many industries including the oil and gas industry”.
Already, a team of experts have paid a working visit to technical institutions across the country for stakeholder consultations on the way forward in terms Ghana’s preparedness to train and certify internationally recognised welders.
Last week, the team submitted their assessment report put together to assess the feasibility of establishing a Ghana Welding Institute to the Management of the Commission.
In the next 10 days, it is expected that the team of experts will produce a policy framework towards the establishment of Ghana Welding Bureau. The workshop brought to the fore some of the key issues and challenges confronting Ghana’s welding industry and ways to address them effectively.