MoE initiatives aim to deploy 50,000 oil, gas workers by 2030

Fung Siew Mun
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

THE Ministry of Education has embarked on a number of initiatives focusing on several key areas to ensure the country's education system can supply qualified workers to fill the 50,000 slated jobs in the oil and gas sector by 2030.

Education Minister Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Hj Abu Bakar Hj Apong was quoted as saying this in an interview published in the Oxford Business Group's (OBG) 2011 country report for Brunei.

"One area is policy implementation. Our 21st Century National Education System (SPN 21) provides multiple access to higher education, placing significant emphasis on technical and vocational education," said the minister.

"Those whose strengths lie in industrial skills can follow the applied programme stream, which eventually will lead them to pursue higher education in technical and vocational fields," he said.

Another area is research and innovation where Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) and Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB) had been focusing on, said the minister.

UBD initiated a number of courses and programmes in oil and gas, offering undergraduate and graduate programmes in Energy Studies and Petroleum Geosciences. Meanwhile, ITB's Faculty of Engineering offers two Bachelor of Engineering programmes.

"Plans are also being made to launch a Diploma in Process Engineering programme early next year," said the minister.

The enhancement of infrastructure and resources is the third area the ministry is focusing. Both UBD and ITB have expanded existing infrastructure to cater to programmes in engineering and research.

"Meeting the demand of 50,000 jobs by 2030 requires us to identify areas of specialisation and the required levels of education. Once these areas have been identified we can then incorporate them into our programmes," the minister said.

The Energy Department at Prime Minister's Office (EDPMO) is in the process of preparing the Energy Industry Competency Framework for Energy, Oil and Gas. The framework, expected to be completed by the end of 2012, is hoped to boost local skillforce in the sector, with the objective of creating 50,000 jobs by the year 2035.

Energy Minister Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia Hj Mohammad Yasmin Hj Umar was previously reported as saying "the framework will enable provision of programmes to prospective workforce who can fulfill the competency requirements of the jobs offered and the right training to jobseekers so that they can enter the oil and gas industry once they completed training".

The Energy minister also said initiatives had been taken to conduct research on the steps that need to be taken by higher academic institutions whether they are able to provide courses and training schemes that are needed by the energy industry.

In another report, the Energy minister also said that there will be continous demand for jobs in the oil and gas industry.

The Energy Minister said new downstream projects, such as the oil and petrochemical refinery plants in Pulau Muara Besar and the Sungai Liang Industrial Park (SPARK) will open up new employment opportunities to locals.

Increase in exploration and development activities to extract crude oil and gas in existing and new areas in the upstream sector would promise more spin-off activities like shipping, supplying and catering as well, creating employment opportunities.

Dipetik dari - The Brunei Times