After losing their jobs when Government closed several sugar estates over the past years, some former Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) workers are now turning towards the budding oil and gas industry.
There are at least 11 former GuySuCo workers who have been recruited by TOTALTEC Oilfield Services, which has partnered with Guyana Shore Base Inc (GYSBI) to recruit and train over 120 Guyanese in basic safety and oilfield operations to enable them to successfully join and participate in the emergent oil and gas sector.
With offshore operations moving apace, these 120 recruits are expected to fill safety and operational positions on the shore base located in Houston, Greater Georgetown. These recruits are expected to undergo a four-month training exercise conducted at the TOTALTEC International Petroleum and Maritime Academy (IPMA, known as The Academy) using their existing programmes.
At the launch of the training on Wednesday, TOTALTEC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lars Mangal noted that it was a major undertaking to recruit and train 120 new young men and women for the industry.
“This journey has been one very, very challenging journey to catalyse and create capacity-building efforts that’s foundational to the Guyana oil and gas industry, and that starts with getting people into the industry – Guyanese, especially young people into the industry – in a foundational way so they can then start to build meaningful careers for themselves, their families in the industry, in a safe and professional way,” Mangal stated.
Over the past year, TOTALTEC has recruited, trained and found gainful employment for over 150 Guyanese. The Academy usually recruits and trains persons who are then employed by oil companies.
Petroleum Geologist at the Department of Energy, Marissa Foster, encouraged Guyanese to take advantage of the opportunities being offered by TOTALTEC.
“Through joint ventures like these, it is our vision that the Guyanese people will not only be trained to push buttons and turn knobs, but they will also have an understanding of the procedures behind the work they do … It is only through this that our people can gain experience in the sector and really contribute to the overall national development,” Foster asserted.
Meanwhile, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman, who has been a patron of the recruiting agency, lauded the company for its effort in allowing Guyanese to benefit from the oil and gas sector, especially the former sugar workers.
“Even as the industry is about to appear before us, it will still take years to get us fully in place. So hearing that we’re training 120 persons in four months is really what got me here today… And it goes to show that in the midst of a crisis, there’s always an opportunity.
So as the Wales Estate closed, we’re able to transfer not all but some persons here to receive training and I know that not only were they able to get work, but some were even taken abroad to New Orleans (in the United States) for further training,” the Minister noted.
Guyana Times International caught up with two of the former GuySuCo workers in the first batch of 120 recruits.
Twenty-five-year-old Desmond Anderson, a former electrical and instrument repair mechanic from the now closed Rose Hall Estate, and Santkumar Singh, also 25, a former field workshop mechanic from the La Bonne Intention (LBI) Estate, both related that after losing their jobs following the closures, they were forced to take up employment in other fields.
Now with this opportunity that has come up, though in a completely new sector for them, they are both ready for the challenge.
“This is all new to me, but I’m all eager about the training. I don’t know what it might entail, but I’m willing and all determined to learn something new,” Anderson posited.
Meanwhile, Singh added: “The oil and gas field is different compared to GuySuCo, so yes it is going to be a challenge yes, but it’s something that we’re willing to take on.”
Among this first batch of recruits also are two female candidates, one of whom was an aspiring aeronautical engineer who was now eager to take a dip in this new budding industry.
“I was not able to continue (at the Aeronautical Engineering School) because of finances… and as soon as I saw this opportunity, I grabbed it. I feel very grateful to be one of the women chosen and I do advise that other women come on board, because we can do the same thing men can do,” Nyima Jemott contended.
Successful recruits will attend IPMA to undergo an intensive, six-week hands-on safety and operational training programme and will then joining GYSBI, which currently employs over 200 Guyanese in its shore base operations in a wide range of activities.
Interested candidates are asked to visit https://www.totaltec-os.com/careers for instructions on how to apply for recruitment.
