ExxonMobil Guyana technicians to begin advanced training

DPI, Guyana, Monday, August 26, 2019

With ‘first oil’ on the horizon and Liza Destiny fast approaching Guyana’s waters, ExxonMobil Guyana continues to ramp up training of Guyanese nationals for technical positions in the oil and gas sector.

The first batch of local operations and maintenance (O&M) technicians recruited by ExxonMobil Guyana to work on the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel are about to embark on an Advanced Systems Training at the Cape Brenton University in Canada.

This was announced by the oil giant via a press release on Monday. According to the statement, over the last several months, the 24 technicians were exposed to basic systems training in four disciplines; electrical, mechanical, instrumentation, and operations with the next 12 months focusing on discipline-specific training in each craft.

ExxonMobil noted the technicians’ optimism about their ongoing training in Canada and are excited to return home at the end of their exercise in 2020.

It was noted that following another year of training in Canada, on the job training will continue on the FPSO. The company’s development model for operations and maintenance employees is designed for trainees to advance from Technician I to III over time.

The release stated that “the intent is to enhance their capacity to such a level that they can replace an experienced international worker”.

One of the key elements of the company’s local content strategy is the employment and training of nationals as “it is part of a multi-tiered approach which also includes supplier development and strategic community investments”.

ExxonMobil highlighted that it aims to develop a “diverse and skilled workforce that can meaningfully contribute to our Guyana operations while being part of a global pool of talent capable of meeting our future business needs wherever we operate”.

Another batch of approximately 50 technicians will be recruited early 2020.