Accra, Sept. 17, GNA - The Government, through a World Bank facility, is to build the capacity of selected tertiary educational institutions to enable them to train petroleum-related technicians in support of the emerging oil and gas industry. Ghana is to witness the first flow of commercial crude from the Jubilee oil field, located in the Western Region before the end of the year, a development that is expected to lead to a job boom, especially for people with technician related backgrounds. But there are fears that Ghana could lose out in this venture, as the nation seems not too prepared with a strategy in producing the

technicians with the requisite qualifications to support the project. Visiting the Takoradi Polytechnic stand at the on-going Oil and Gas

Education conference at the University of Ghana on Thursday, an Advisor

to the Minister of Energy, Mr. Alex Kyei, hinted that the government

would soon extend sufficient support to the school to enable it to mount specialized oil-biased programmes. He did not disclose the quantum of money involved in the proposed

"Oil and Gas Capacity Development Project", but said it would help address problems regarding training of manpower in support of the oil industry. Mr. Kyei, a former high raking IMF official, was accompanied to the Takoradi Polytechnic stand by Professor Ernest Aryeetey,

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana. Mr. Kyei said the World Bank facility was meant to augment the

capacity of institutions such as the Takoradi Polytechnic with the necessary

infrastructure that would enable them to meet industry demands. He said Takoradi Polytechnic was included in the facility because it

had tailor-made courses which were relevant to the industry. He urged Management of the Polytechnic to work assiduously to meet

the expectations of the people. This means that Takoradi Polytechnic must present to the

government a strong proposal on the quantum of resources it needs,

compete with actionable plans for the implementation of the project to

commence. Mr. S.A.N.K. Tsibuah, Head of Industrial Liaison office of the

Polytechnic, briefed the Vice-Chancellor and the Special Advisor, itemizing areas in

which the Polytechnic had a comparative advantage for the promotion of the

study of technical and vocational education. This, he said, included technician programmes in welding, electrical

and electronic engineering, aircraft maintenance, as well as logistics and transport. Takoradi Polytechnic's comparative advantage in technician-based oil

and gas courses is premised on the fact that it is the tertiary institution

closest to the hub of oil activities in the country. In addition, it has a specific mandate to spearhead the

industrialization of the Western Region. The two-day conference, organized by Getenergy, a UK-based consultancy firm focuses on generating ideas on education and training requirement in the West Africa oil and gas industry.