SOME of Guyana’s biggest oil and gas players have partnered with government ministries to be part of the Women in Energy Job Fair. Hosted at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, the event was spearheaded by Women in Energy, a group dedicated to empowering women in the energy industry through networking, mentorship, and education.

The event provided young men and women with an up-close and personal experience, interacting with representatives from 14 companies and ministries to have their questions answered and learn more about Guyana’s growing oil and gas industry.

In a short interview with the Sunday Chronicle at the fair on Saturday, Filisha Duke, Vice President of Women in Energy, emphasised the organisation’s mission to foster greater inclusion, skill development and career guidance.

“Women in Energy is an organisation that is specifically focused on creating opportunities for women in the energy space, encouraging more inclusion of women within that space. As you know, that’s a male-dominated space,” Duke explained.

The job fair featured participation from major staffing agencies and companies operating within the oil and gas industry. Energy giants like Saipem, Halliburton, Greenstate Oil and Gas, Guyana Logistics and Support Services, SBM Offshore, as well as government entities such as the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labour, and the Guyana Online Academy of Learning.
The Ministry of Education’s career guidance unit and training institutions focused on upskilling initiatives and opportunities, offering advice to visitors trained in other fields on making the change to the oil and gas sector.

“We wanted to add a touch as well as it relates to skill sets and upscaling, because within the energy space, you have to have certain skill sets, especially if you’re going offshore,” Duke said, adding, “We have some career guidance happening in this role; we have the Ministry of Education, which is very important. A lot of these things start from secondary school, then go to university, so you’re prepping them to make their way into that space.”

One of the highlights of the fair was the access job seekers had to immediate opportunities and firsthand information, with many young people and students taking the opportunity to learn more about Guyana’s energy sector and the role they can play.

“It was a strategic position where young professionals or job seekers could come in and have access to information,” Duke said. “The good thing is, a lot of the agencies are actively hiring,” she added.

Duke acknowledged that many Guyanese are eager to participate in the country’s growing oil and gas sector but often lack clarity on how to transition into the field.
“One of the things that the young professionals were asked was, ‘So I’m a teacher, how do I transition the skills I would have acquired as a teacher to get an opportunity to work with media agencies?’

“More and more, you’re seeing Guyanese have a desire; they want to be a part of the boom and what’s happening,” she stated.

Duke, who has been an active figure within the Women in Energy movement, noted that the organisation already has ambitious plans for future growth. “Every year, I can guarantee you it’s going to get bigger,” Duke said.

“Next year, we’re going to push this bigger, and I know our goal for next year will be to go into the other regions, at least the major ones, like Linden, New Amsterdam, you know, the major ones, to take it to them because it’s difficult sometimes for them to come to us,” she stated.