oil and gas industry « Uganda Radio Network

This edition is another part in our series on the emerging oil and gas industry. Focusing on national participation, we look at the issue of skills and employment.

Employment is one of the crucial avenues through which a country’s nationals benefit from the highly-valued petroleum industry. The bulk of jobs in this industry is in the vocational and craftsman disciplines, where technicians such as drilling engineers, rig operators, wielders, builders and fabricators are highly demanded.

But as exploration continues and oil production draws nearer, there is growing concern that Ugandan technicians may not be skilled enough, to find employment in an industry that demands excellent technical skills and precision.

Listen to this edition as we explore the issues surrounding this debate. We sample some of the skills already available in the market, as well as the training facilities and examine if the skills they are teaching will serve the oil and gas industry. We also visit Uganda Petroleum Institute Kigumba, to understand how different this institution set up specially to train petroleum technicians is from all the technical colleges around the country.

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In this third edition of a series on oil exploration in Uganda, National Perspective explores the expectations of Ugandans in regard to the young oil and gas industry. We speak to ordinary Ugandans, who believe that when the oil money starts flowing, they will get good roads, education institutions or even money from government.

For some, even before one drop of oil comes out of the ground, there is already belief that they can carry jerry cans to a village meeting and come home with a jerrycan-ful of paraffin, as we find out from an official from one of the oil companies.

So how should Ugandans benefit from this valuable resource? And how have they benefited so far? Reports indicate that in terms of all the benefits that a country’s people should get from such a resource, this benefit has only been less than 15 percent so far.

Will Ugandans get jobs when the oil starts flowing?

Outside Uganda, we share stories from Ghana and Nigeria, two other African countries which are already benefiting from oil.

Tune in to a station in your area to listen to this edition.

Tag Archives: oil and gas industry

National Perspective Vol.039: Will Ugandan Technicians Get Oil Jobs? (program summary)

National Perspective Vol.016: Oil Exploration in Uganda; How Do We Position Ourselves to Benefit? (audio 30mins)

National Perspective Vol.016: Oil Exploration in Uganda; How Do We Position Ourselves to Benefit? (Program summary)