Accra, May 10, GNA - The Management, Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI) has trained about 6,000 people under the first component of the oil and gas industry aimed at equipping them with the requisite knowledge and skills to compete for jobs in the petroleum sector.

Some 4,000 people benefited from the Accra training, which is still ongoing, 980 have been trained from Kumasi out of the total registered number of 1,510 and 600 from Sekondi-Takoradi while 511 from Tamale completed the training. The first component is the overview of the oil and gas industry and it was aimed at providing the necessary rudimental ingredients of the basic knowledge of the oil and gas sector. Mr Adam Abdul-Karim, Consultant and Coordinator of the MDPI oil and gas training project, told the GNA in Accra on Tuesday that there had been positive responses for the training in Takoradi, Kumasi and Tamale.

He said officials had difficulty in controlling the crowd that thronged the training centres at the various stations since those who were not registered to be part of the training came with their monies pleading with MDPI officials to enroll them. He said some Members of Parliament (MPs), Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) who were initially sceptical about the training were also there to ensure that those they were sponsoring got the chance to participate. He said the NYEP had a greater number of about 4,000 beneficiaries while the rest were sponsored by MPs, DCEs and private individuals for the training which would last for six months after which beneficiaries would be ready for the market. Mr Phillip Assibit Akpeena, Managing Consultant for MDPI, said although the training was not going to provide ready jobs, trainees were most likely to secure jobs under the local content law, which stipulated that 90 per cent of the work in some areas of the petroleum services should be given to Ghanaians. He said MDPI was the only accredited institution in the country with the mandate of providing increased productivity in both private and public organizations in Ghana to enable them contribute to the growth of the economy on a sustainable basis.

He said experts from the PetroSkills and African Gulf, well accredited recognized petroleum companies and local consultants, were offering the training and that certificates gained could also be used to apply for jobs in the oil and gas sector not only in Ghana but any part of the world.

Mr Akpeena said the first phase of the training was targeting some 8,000 people and gave the assurance that the management of MDPI would ensure that the training benefited all participants to position them well on the job market.

He advised prospective applicants for the training to be wary of fraudsters in the system who would deceive and extract monies from them saying, 93The application form for the training is GHc50.00 and who ever asks for more than the amount is a fraudster". 10 May 11