NAMIBIA has a large pool of qualified people who can work in the country’s emerging oil and gas industry, observed Nillian Mulemi, CEO of the Petroleum Training and Education Fund.

With nine oil discoveries so far off the Namibian coast, Mulemi said there is need to ensure locals participate in the oil and gas industry.

She said the  Petrofund has started programmes to upskill Namibians with the requisite skills to work in the emerging sector.

“We do have quite a lot of Namibians who are competent. What is important for us is to upskill them to make sure they are given the necessary training for them to participate in the oil and gas industry,” she said.

Petrofund is a statutory body of the Namibian government whose mandate is to build capacity for the country’s petroleum industry.

This year, Petrofund budgeted N$4.9 million to support 34 students continuing with its scholarship programme.

It will also spend N$23.6 million on new scholarships and a further N$5.2 million to retrain 30 welders and fitters to acquire oil and gas certification.

Speaking during a budget review gala dinner organised by the Namibia Press Agency on Thursday, Mulemi said the fund has a scholarship programme to equip Namibians with the required skills and training.

“We also, upon the discovery of oil and gas, deemed it necessary to understand what the skills landscape is in Namibia because we tend to always say there are no skills, but you have to go out there and do research and understand what the market is telling you. And the market did not disappoint; we have a lot of Namibians that have the necessary competencies,” she said.

Mulemi reported that 8 400 curriculum vitae (CVs) were submitted in response to Petrofund requests over a two-week period.

“The situation on skills is not gloomy. Our database tells us that we have a lot of Namibians who are willing, available, and have some skills. Our responsibility is to upskill,” she said.

-Nampa