20 December 2011, Sweetcrude, Yenagoa – Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has announced plans to train 1000 youths on Oil Spillage Control and Environmental Remediation.
The Executive Secretary of the Board, Engr. Ernest Nwapa stated this on Thursday last week when the Executive of Ijaw Youth Council, (IYC) Central Zone paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
He noted that the Board had been working in line with the vision of President Goodluck Jonathan to create employment for Nigerians and is steadily creating thousands of jobs and training opportunities through the attachment of engineers, welders and other professionals to the regular contracts and projects executed in the industry under the requirements of the Employment and Training Plan.
Nwapa explained that the forthcoming programme will train youths from oil producing areas where oil spillages are rampant on how to prevent and carry out remediation of their environment whenever such incidents occur.
He regretted that remediation efforts have not sufficiently mobilized local human resources in the past, adding that studies have shown that current efforts by government would require substantial number of professionally trained hands.
According to him, the program planned by the Board will produce a new vanguard of direct stakeholders in the communities who will be knowledgeable in the use of modern technology to carry out remediation on land, swamp and offshore locations.
The training is part of the Board’s mandate to build local capacity in the oil and gas industry, integrate host communities with industry activities and generate employment opportunities for Nigerians.
Under the first phase, about 1000 youths will be trained by world class environmental management companies to be engaged by the Board, using modern technology and facilities.
The Executive Secretary noted that over 2000 persons have already applied for the workshops through the individual competency template on the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Joint Qualification System (http://www.nogicjqs.com.)
He further challenged leaders of the Ijaw Youth Congress to mobilise their members to apply for the planned training workshops, adding that the closing date for receiving applications had been extended to January 17, 2012.
Currently, the Board is reaching out to ministries of information in oil producing states and local governments and have also deployed other informal channels to get potential participants to apply for the training.
The training programme is expected to provide participants with knowledge they will make them sustainably employed.
Participants will also be able to ensure that oil companies operating in their communities use proper environmental management standards in their operations.
