By John Ikani
The Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), a group of independent training providers in the Nigerian oil and gas industry received a pat on the back for a job well done as it presented its Review of National Executives Performance to the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, at the Nigerian Content Tower in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State on Thursday.
The group was led by its President, Mazi Sam Azoka Onyechi and accompanied by other top officials, and the review they presented highlighted initiatives and activities termed ‘First Tenure.’ The review gave a detailed account of grounds covered in manpower development and related goals of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010, within the period under consideration.
OGTAN listed ‘Authorized Training Services Practitioner (ATSP) Protocol’ as part of capacity building for its members in service delivery competencies that would position them to “reasonably compete with international training organizations” and to secure “industry-wide acceptance” of the Association’s certifications.
To achieve the accomplishments, OGTAN, the leading unit of the Education and Training Sectoral Group of the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF) had to set “a minimum practice standard” for members, numbering over 400, with “a third-party verification audit” to enable them to grade themselves against known corporate standards.
OGTAN equally promoted “digital literacy and other technology-backed training in service delivery for members via an Agency Agreement with CERTIPORT [a renowned provider of advanced technology solutions]” and conducted well-attended public lectures on human capacity development. The Association remarkably established and “operationalized the OGTAN Young Professionals Forum,” an online platform targeted at undergraduates of tertiary institutions in the country.
In addition, the Association “fostered and deepened local and regional collaborations with stakeholders as varied as Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun, Delta State, Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Uganda (OGTAU), and The Welding Federation, Africa (TWF), among others.
The presentation was well received by the Management of NCDMB, OGTAN’s Mother parastatal, which expressed its expectation that a lot more could be achieved in the course of time. “We need to get the oil and gas sector right to be able to conquer the world,” declared the Executive Secretary, Engr. Wabote, in his excitement at the accomplishments of the body.
“We’ll continue to support OGTAN,” he assured, while urging the Association to strive for higher performance and to do more to create greater awareness of its existence and what its functions and capabilities are. He said a functional website would make the organisation’s existence, functions and capabilities better known and appreciated.
According to the NCDMB boss, “If you don’t market yourself, nobody will know who you are,” adding that it needs to showcase its programmes, faculty members, and facilities, among other things. A website should provide answers to posers such as “Who are your Grade B trainers?” and how membership of the Association could be beneficial to an organisation in the oil and gas industry and the society at large.
He urged the Association to consider organising some of its training programmes at well-resourced training outfits like the Centre for Skills Development and Training (CSDT), Omagwa, Rivers State, which is nearing completion. The Centre, which is the product of a collaboration between the NCDMB and PTDF, has world-class facilities for technology-based training.
