14th June 2018 – Georgetown, Guyana – A group of 25 candidates have begun training on an 8 week program at the TOTALTEC Academy in Georgetown.
This follows the first successful program, which graduated 22 candidates with the foundational safety and operational skills necessary to work in the oilfield service industry. The graduates of the first school are now in various positions for companies active in the rapidly developing, emerging oil and gas sector.
Honorable Raphael G.C. Trotman, MP Minister of Natural Resources paid a visit to help kick off the school, where he emphasized the important role graduates will play in developing the emerging Guyana oilfield services sector.
“The TOTALTEC Academy is a unique avenue of opportunity for participation and transfer of knowledge to our local industries and their workforces as we move forward to develop this new resource”, said Minister Trotman.
TOTALTEC has invested in a purpose built 80,000 sq. ft. facility that combines classroom and practical training, located next to the shore base operations supporting ExxonMobil. Three classrooms are joined by infrastructure specifically designed for training skills foundational to the offshore industry, for example slinging, lifting, handling, crane operations, fork lift driving, working at height and in confined and hazardous areas.
Throughout the program, a strong culture of safety, looking after yourself and co-workers, and being empowered to stop operations if something is not right, is instilled in all candidates. This culture is a critical part of the oil and gas industry, where safety is the number one priority.
TOTALTEC are also in the process of implementing a state of art driver training program at their facility, including the use of full scale driving simulators. These simulators allow candidates to experience automobile crash scenarios in a controlled environment, learn best practices in defensive and avoidance techniques, which they will then apply both on the job, and in everyday life. In addition to the Academy, TOTALTEC offers customized operational and safety programs to the oil and gas sector, and beyond to other industries in Guyana who will benefit from incorporating these globally tried and tested best practice approaches to safety and operational performance improvement.
Of the 25 new recruits employed by TOTALTEC on this second 8 week program, around 45% come with backgrounds from the recently impacted sugar and bauxite mining sectors. The opportunity for former workers coming from these sectors has proven to be highly successful in transforming their career prospects. On the first program run by TOTALTEC, over 30% of the successful graduates came from the sugar sector.
“Our focus is on building the workforce of the future. The graduates of the first school are making us proud, and the feedback from companies where they are now working has been very positive. Demand is high,” said Lars Mangal, president and CEO of TOTALTEC Oilfield Services Guyana. “The flexibility we offer through scholarships, sponsorships and internships is being well received by Guyanese and international companies, who understand that a skilled, safety conscious workforce is critical to their success.”
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About TOTALTEC
TOTALTEC Oilfield Services is focused on the success of the oil industry in Guyana for the benefit the country, its people, and partner companies. It does this through three areas: people, partnerships, and facilities. Qualified and motivated Guyanese develop through the Academy. Partnerships prioritize products and services that are starting points to grow from, in effectively introduce companies new to Guyana. The Guyana Shore Base facility is now supporting offshore operations.
The 94% Guyanese TOTALTEC workforce includes 8 nationalities with over 160 years of international oilfield experience. https://www.totaltec-os.com