CNOOC to equip 30 Bunyoro locals with heavy machine operator skills
James Okwi, the Skills Development Officer at the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU), said that training the youth in the region will empower and expose them to employment opportunities beyond the oil industry.
A total of 30 locals in the Bunyoro sub-region have been enrolled in three months of heavy machine operators’ training by China National offshore oil corporation (CNOOC) Uganda.
CNOOC Uganda is the developer of Kingfisher oil development at the Buhuka landing site in the Kikuube district.
According to the company’s local content manager, this is part of the strategies to equip local people with skills to mitigate negative impacts from the industry.
The training that will last for three months at Sir Tito Winyi playground in Kiryateete Cell, Hoima City. will enable locals to attain skills in operating heavy machines, especially excavators and bulldozers, the machinery currently used in civil works in the oil industry in the Albertine Grabben.
According to Alex Katusabe, the Chief Administrative Secretary for Bunyoro Kitara kingdom, 30 locals were selected from the 700 who applied from across the Bunyoro sub-region where commercially viable oil deposits were discovered.
Mathew Kyaligonza, the National Content Manager of CNOOC, expressed the company’s commitment to skilling and developing human resources in the region and the country in general as part of the strategies to equip local people with skills to mitigate negative impacts from the industry.
James Okwi, the Skills Development Officer at the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU), said that training the youth in the region will empower and expose them to employment opportunities beyond the oil industry.
He said the aim of the initiative is to ensure that all the youth undergoing this training are employed by the oil companies to enable them to gain and expand their experience in the field.
Sylvia Nalumaga, the Hoima City Deputy Mayor who has represented Brian Kaboyo as the Chief Guest, noted that since unemployment among the youth in the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom is partly due to a lack of skills, the training is relatively an answer.
Ivan Wesonga, the Executive Director of Zatta Energy Ltd, revealed that the beneficiaries began with theory adding that the next phase is equipping them with practical work.
Some of the beneficiaries have told us the importance of this skills training.
This training follows the recent one in which the youth were trained in Heavy Goods Vehicle driving.
