…Trotman calls on oil investors to train former sugar workers

As TOTALTEC launches its oilfield Operator Training Programme on the grounds of the Guyana Shore Base Inc. on Monday, its Patron, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman called on investors to help “retool” former sugar workers to make them fit for the oil and gas industry.

At the inauguration of the academy, Minister Trotman urged the investors to partner with local academic institutions like the University of Guyana (UG) in order to help Guyana “delink” and go through the “pains” of rightsizing the sugar industry.
“We have able-bodied men and women who can make a contribution to the oil and gas industry which will replace sugar,” said the minister.

Minister Trotman encouraged the investors to support Guyanese and the Government because they need “all hands on deck” to develop the local oil and gas industry.
Minister Trotman had conducted the ground-breaking ceremony for the TOTALTEC Academy building in February during GIPEX 2018, as the Patron of the newly established oilfield service training academy.

The training will comprise some 60 courses and recruit 24 Guyanese candidates to become the future oilfield workers. Two highly-experienced international instructors with over 40 years of experience in the industry between them will coordinate the training.

The programme will encompass basic safety, through to specific environmental practices and technical training on specialised lifting operations, rigging and slinging and forklift driving.
The programme will run for just under three months and will allow recruits to be fully immersed in every aspect of basic operational and safety training required in the industry to ensure that they are given the opportunity to develop and perform to the world class standards that are expected in the international oil and gas industry.

The recruits will have the opportunity to be exposed to a number of highly-experienced oil and gas industry professionals and learn from them while determining and developing their own career aspirations and ambitions.