PTDF moves to operationalise Port Harcourt skills centre, targets oil sector workforce gap

By Onu Okorie

Petroleum Technology Development Fund PTDF has inaugurated a high-level committee to fast-track the operationalisation of its Centre for Skills Development and Training (CSDT) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, as part of efforts to address shortages of qualified Nigerian technical manpower in the energy sector.
The Executive Secretary of PTDF, Professor Shuaibu Shehu Aliyu, who inaugurated the committee in Abuja, said the body would review the Centre’s operational systems, identify gaps and develop practical measures for its full utilisation.
Aliyu said the initiative was driven by findings from a PTDF skills audit which revealed significant shortages of competent Nigerian workers, particularly in technical and middle-level occupations across the oil and gas industry.
He said the CSDT was conceived to bridge the skills gap by providing competency-based vocational training and internationally recognised certifications for technicians, artisans and craftsmen.
The Centre will offer training in areas including welding and fabrication, electrical works, industrial safety, automobile maintenance and heavy-duty equipment maintenance.
According to Aliyu, the facility is approximately 98 per cent complete and has an administrative building, auditorium, library, hostels, staff quarters, canteen, power and water infrastructure and other supporting facilities.
Although the Centre has yet to commence full operations, he said its facilities had already been utilised for programmes under the PTDF Overseas Scholarship Scheme and In-Country Scholarship Scheme, as well as training programmes organised by institutions including the Bureau of Public Procurement.
The committee is expected to develop an operational policy and management framework for the Centre, while designing competency-based curricula that respond directly to industry requirements.
It will also recommend appropriate training, assessment and certification systems and establish pathways linking trainees with internships, apprenticeships, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.
In addition, the committee is expected to develop sustainable partnerships among government agencies, regulators, educational institutions, professional bodies, oil and gas operators and service companies.
The committee will also prepare an implementation framework specifying timelines, responsibilities, monitoring indicators and reporting mechanisms for the Centre.
Responding on behalf of the committee, its Chairman, Professor Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, thanked PTDF for the confidence reposed in its members and pledged to deliver a comprehensive review and operationalisation framework.
Kachikwu said skills development remained critical to economic growth, greater local participation in the energy value chain and Africa’s effective participation in the global energy transition.
The committee comprises representatives from key government, academic, regulatory, labour and industry institutions, including the Chairman of the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), Christopher Osarunwense; National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), represented by Dr. Folorunsho Akande; Chief Executive Officer of Green Energy International, Professor Anthony Adegbulugbe; President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo; and Professor Mohammed Dauda of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
Others include Professor Ayodele Ajayi of the Federal University of Technology, Akure; representatives of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Zainab Dutse and Professor Gobir; Mrs V. U. Akpagher of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC); and Dr. Sani Mohammed of Kaduna Polytechnic.
Representatives of Dangote Refinery, the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) and other key stakeholder organisations are also members of the committee.
PTDF expressed confidence that the diverse expertise represented on the committee would provide the strategic direction needed to strengthen the Centre’s programmes, deepen industry integration and advance the Fund’s mandate of developing human and institutional capacity for Nigeria’s energy sector.