Companies in natural resources sector must be deeply involved in local content

Aug 22, 2018 News

– Veteran Engineer urges

For local content to be truly realized, companies must be proactive, they must help Guyanese build the competencies needed for the emerging oil and gas sector. Expressing these and other remarks recently was Mr. Charles Ceres, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ground Structures Engineering Consultants.
At a two-day workshop on local content which was held at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, Ceres said the involvement of companies must be based on a commitment to training so as to increase the pool of locals who can work in the oil sector while ensuring that the skills acquired can be translated to other sectors.

Veteran Engineer, Charles Ceres

In addition to this, Ceres noted that local content policies must ensure that resources are provided to the University of Guyana so that it can have an appropriate curriculum to train persons for the oil and gas sector.
Also delivering remarks at the event which saw about 250 participants was Professor Leyland Lucas, Dean of the School of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation (SEBI).
Professor Lucas said, “I am concerned that there are two things happening in our nation today. There is a great deal of noise about what local content is and its implications for our development and the development of the future generations. The flipside of this is silence, an unwillingness to educate ourselves over the past few months about what local content is; what it means for our lives now and our lives in future, what it means for generations to come.”
Professor Lucas noted that somewhere between that silence and noise lies the need for education. He said, too, that local content is not just doing business with entities but also, about building competencies and capabilities needed to transform this nation into a green economy.
Further to this, stakeholders of the natural resources sector who were in attendance were keen on sharing examples of their approach to local content.
FURGO, one of the world’s leading providers of geo-intelligence said that it is working with local firms to help build industry specific capacity while investing in education from the primary to tertiary levels.
Ground Structures Engineering Consultants noted that it focused significantly on training employees through its partnerships with other firms. Guyana Goldfields highlighted their focus on growing local businesses, while Worley Parsons emphasized their collaborative work with local and regional partners in helping to develop capacity beyond the direct needs of the industry.
The local content engagement was organized by the University of Guyana, School of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation (SEBI) in partnership with Ground Structures Engineering Consultants Inc. (GSEC); FUGRO; Guyana Goldfields; Worley Parson; and the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company.

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