Vocational Training in Oil and Gas in Tanzania

=Introduction= Tanzania has been exploring oil and gas for more than sixty years now. It has yet to strike oil gold, but it has experienced gas discoveries aplenty, hence making the country a significant hunting ground for foreign investors. Despite this huge potential and prospects, the skills gap in the oil and gas industry remains yawning. Thus there is a pressing need for vocational training—which emphasises particular skills and knowledge required for a particular job function—in the country.

The Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) under the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) came into being by a Vocational Educational and Training Act of 1994. VETA is charged with broad tasks of co-ordinating, regulating, financing, promoting and providing vocational education and training in Tanzania. According to Article 4(c), VETA is to satisfy the demands of the labour market for employees with trade skills to improve production and productivity of the country’s economy.

=VETA Training in Oil and Gas= The discovery of oil and gas in the country has inevitably ignited debate on the availability of a necessary and essential skilled labour force to serve the industry. Indeed, the sector requires a number of personnel in gas exploration, gas extraction, gas processing, and gas transportation. This list also includes cross-cutting activities in Safety Health and Environment (SHE), which also require qualified personnel that are not commonly and readily available in the country. As a matter of fact, the discovery of natural gas reserve in Mtwara and Lindi regions avails great opportunities for VETA to prepare locals well equipped with skills required in the oil and gas industry, thereby facilitating their ability to seize the resultant employment opportunities in the sector. As it is legally entrusted with the responsibility of regulating, providing, financing, and co-ordinating vocational education and training (VET) in Tanzania, VETA is best positioned to train and nurture skilled workforce among youths in oil and gas as it is has:


 * Vocational Education Training (VET) facilities in Mtwara and Lindi regions where natural gas has been discovered


 * Strong support from both the central and local governments


 * Established networks with stakeholders in almost all the regions in the country, and


 * Experience in running and offering demand-driven skills training for different sectors and industries in the country

Due to its legal mandate and training capacity, VETA has recently launched a project, Enhancing Employability through Vocational Training (EEVT) in Mtwara region in partnership with BG Group and Volunteer Service Organisation (VSO). The three-year project, which received a financial boost of one million USD from BG Group, is aimed at improving the employability of the local population in Mtwara and Lindi regions as well as in Tanzania by elevating the training standards at Mtwara’s VETA centre. The training focuses on the needs of oil and gas companies and related services. The project’s immediate outputs:


 * 24 VETA teachers with enhanced capacity in their fields and teaching methodology


 * 24 vocational teachers with Level 2 International English Language certificate


 * 7 VETA teachers from selected trades with a degree qualification


 * 280 VETA students with internationally-accepted certificates in their trades and more than 50 percent of them engaged in the oil and gas industry and related services


 * 5 members of the administration staff from Mtwara Regional Vocational Training Service Centre (RVTSC) trained in administrative and project management skills.

The project’s outcomes include:


 * Raised local standards for craftsmanship skills to international level in eight areas: Carpentry, Plumbing, Welding, Motor Vehicle Mechanics, Electrical Installation and Maintenance, Food Production, Laboratory Assistant, and English Language


 * Mtwara RVTSC becoming a centre of excellence for providing vocational training in disciplines relevant to the oil and gas industry and related services


 * VETA graduates are employed by oil and gas companies and other related service companies


 * Mtwara residents and Tanzanians at large are expected to benefit from increased employability, hence increased income


 * The project will also be replicated in other regions through VETA’s networks to ensure that other Tanzanians also benefit.

=Challenges= VETA’s initiatives to develop the necessary skilled workforce for the oil and gas industry notwithstanding, a number of challenges remain considering the newness of the oil and gas activities in the country. Inevitably, VETA faces challenges such as inadequate capacity to provide world class competitive skills in oil and gas, which some experts attribute to “lack of a national strategy for developing local content for the gas industry.” Other challenges include lack of requisite capacity among VETA’s training staff; mismatch between the skills provided by VETA such as welding, masonry, carpentry, plumbing, etc., and the actual needs in the gas industry.

On the other hand, the Regional Director of South East Zone has defended VETA courses, insisting that they are compatible with international standards. But the VETA training director candidly and explicitly pointed out that Tanzania has yet to develop the capacity to provide modern technology training in the field and, therefore, vocational training centres should work in line with renowned international colleges to bridge the technological gap. Aware of the daunting training challenges the country faces in this sector, the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) Director of Exploration, Production and Technical Services, Dr Emma Msaky, advised the government to establish colleges for a special training in oil and gas to produce a good number of experts in the field: “[Tanzania] has massive oil and gas deposits and yet there are very limited experts to manage the various positions. It is therefore important that the government sets up special colleges for the oil and gas fields.”

=References=