-upskill self to benefit from endless opportunities, says Senior Petroleum Coordinator

SENIOR Petroleum Coordinator Bobby Gossai Jr., on Friday said that given the enormous opportunities that exist in the country’s growing oil-and-gas sector, young people must upskill themselves in the crucial areas so that they can earn and contribute to development of the industry and the country.

Gossai, who is also an economist, was at the time speaking at the youth-engagement forum on the final day of the International Energy Conference and Expo, which was held at the Marriott Hotel.

“For five to eight years, we’ve all seen the transition from traditional jobs to new areas and new industries and new sectors and sub-sectors that are opening up. Key industry opportunities for employment that were not clear are now here.

“And as we move forward into the next eight years, there is going to be more opportunities for the employment of our young people.,” he told his audience, while giving them insight into some of what is available in the energy sector.

He explained that over the last few years, traditional jobs in areas such as mining, agricultural sector, and the services industry have transitioned into the energy sector. However, he acknowledged that one of the serious impacts of this is a gap between the demand and the supply is young people who possess the requisite skills.

The coordinator said that the government has been working intensely to build capacity over the next couple of years to fill that gap with many incentives such as constructing the Guyana Technical Training College at Port Mourant, which will be the premier institution offering oil-and-gas training.

Along with this initiative is the much-needed National Hospitality Institute which will support the growth and development of tourism as a rapidly emerging sector that should be equipped to provide a world-class experience in service delivery.

“It’s not just about focusing on oil and gas, but it’s also focusing on infrastructure development needs, the engineering needs of this country and this is where we are looking to ensure that young people who have the skills and craft … are able to find lucrative opportunities in this economy,” Gossai added.

He said these complement government’s plans to build Guyana by 2030. Due to the dynamic energy sector, Gossai said that the world is in the midst of an energy transition with much focus being placed on a low-carbon economy as well as net zero.
He urged the youth to get on board and play an integral role in development of the sector.

“Right now, the gas industry is very lucrative, but you can also see that the entire economy is moving in an upward direction. So, it is not just oil and gas. There are new and emerging areas in agriculture. There are new and emerging areas in the services industry, whether those are in the hospitality or the financial sector. There are new and emerging areas of growth and opportunities for you,” he emphasised.

According to Gossai, these employment opportunities will increase the country’s labour force, “not just in terms of having more of a certain type of skillset that is needed, but a wide diversity of skills that can grow in different areas.”

TRAINING IS A PRIORITY

He explained that government ministries have also implemented various programmes to entice young people who are interested in oil and gas.

He explained to the attendees that his ministry runs a programme called ‘Youth in Natural Resources’ during the July/August period, which allows young people to have an understanding not only of oil and gas, but also of every other natural resource in the country.

“The one thing we are very cognisant of is that we [Guyana] have a very short labour supply. And it’s not only for the fact that we have less [sic] than a million people, but it’s also because they are in heavy demand. There are a number of industries that are growing at the same time, not necessarily at the same magnitude, but at the same time, skills are being pulled all over the country.

“So, over the next five to 10 years, training our local young people to engage in new adventures of employment is priority number one for the educational mandates of the country. Because what we want to see is over the next 10 years, you have a higher level of participants in the labour force from the ages of 18 to 55 across the entire spectrum of work that we are engaged in,” the petroleum coordinator said.

The Ministry of Natural Resources, which is the lead agency on oil-and-gas gas management, is working with the Ministry of Education, as well as other agencies in the education sector to ensure that those goals are met.

“We’re not living in a time where you just need to focus on one particular type of skillset. Even though the advice is to master that skillset before you go on to anything else. The fact is, if you’re interested in something, research it [and] then you can do it while you’re also earning a living in the country at the same time,” Gossai added.

He noted that Guyana’s energy sector developmental goals and priorities are focused on providing those opportunities to the youth, specially to create that “world-class knowledge and capacity” that they can take to any other part of the world.

However, Gossai urged the youths to fulfil their mandate to their homeland because of the immense opportunities that exist.