IN efforts to grow SBM Offshore’s local team in Guyana, on April 19, 2022 the second cohort of recruits began onboarding into the trainee technicians programmes.

They are expected to spend one year in Canada, receiving extensive training as electrical, mechanical, instrumentation, and operations technicians.

This is according to a Facebook post made by SBM Offshore, which stated that the programme would equip the trainees with the skills and knowledge required on board the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units that SBM Offshore is operating in Guyana.

Martin Cheong, General Manager of SBM Offshore, said that SBM has always seen the provisioning of local content capacity development as a critical aspect of operations in Guyana.

“This programme supplements that goal of truly building our integration into the Guyanese community and the oil and gas sector within Guyana,” Cheong related.

Human Resource Manager, Onecia Johnson, said that SBM was committed to building local capacity so Guyanese can take leading roles in the country’s oil and gas sector.

“The recruitment process for this programme saw over 600 applications being submitted. The selected recruits will now be immersed in extensive training to prepare them to take their place offshore,” Johnson said.

Joshua Gouveia, a trainee technician, said he was excited about the opportunities awaiting him.

“So far, being here with SBM and physically going through these different sessions with them, I would have realised that the company is greatly leaning along the lines of progression for its young people and progression for its staff. It’s a case where I know that a lot of opportunities will be there and will be available as time goes by, so I’m really excited for the opportunities here that SBM would have to offer,” he said.

Another trainee technician, Preya Singh, said that she was excited to do something that she had wanted to do since high school.

“It makes me feel great, but the part that I liked the most about it is that I will be representing women and women aren’t really known to be in this field,” Singh related.

Additionally, a trainee, Arshad Mohamed, said he was happy to have been chosen from over 600 candidates and was very happy to be among the selected 24.

Trainee Selena Simon said she felt accomplished knowing all she went through while growing up.

“We’ve dedicated a lot and me as an individual put a lot of work into it, hard work,” Simon related.

Yogendra Callendar, a trainee technician, said he looked forward to the experience.

“The knowledge is going to be a lot to comprehend within a short period of time. The experience mostly is that we get the work on this huge, huge vessel that is playing a big role for us,” Callendar said.

He added: “I am looking forward to not just learning, but the friends I’m going to make the people I’m going to meet, the cultures that I’m going to be embarking on, the things that I’m going to be understanding from a different point of view and different aspects and to grow, not just myself alone but as a team being a team member or team leader.”