DAR ES SALAAM: TANZANIA has called for increased cooperation with the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) Company in training future skilled workers the country critically needs to manage gainfully the gas and oil industry.
Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Professor Daniel Mushi made the appeal during the launch of a master’s programme initiative in engineering fields, focusing on oil, gas and extractive industries held at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM).
Officiating the event, Professor Mushi said Tanzania needs a huge number of skilled and capable workers to benefit from the resources Tanzania is endowed with.
“This is a big and costly contribution from EACOP. It has cost roughly 116,000 US dollars (some 306m/-). It seeks to produce skilled people who will oversee execution of this project, some are likely to become members of future academic staff.
Our request is that offering master’s scholarships should continue so that we can have a big number of people of this nature who will help us in exploiting the resources we have,” he said.
He explained that some 501 applicants for sponsorship appeared for consideration but only 12 candidates were picked based on their professional capabilities.
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Some applicants were from the universities of Dar es Salaam and Mbeya and the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT).
The successful candidates will go through a rigorous 18-month training programme that will be paid for by the Daqing Oilfield Construction Group Ltd (DOCG).
The DOCG is EACOP’s Tanga tank and terminal contractor.
The six programmes are chemical and process engineering, power electronics and electrical, structural engineering, oil and gas technology, production and petroleum engineering.
Professor Mushi commended the cooperation between EACOP and various institutions and VETA colleges and the hands-on training the project give to workers.
EACOP, he said, has established a gas and oil institute, it offers an internship programme and its sponsoring workers’ overseas training in gas and oil industry.
UDSM Deputy ViceChancellor (Academic), Professor Bonaventure Rutinwa, pledged resolute cooperation with the EACOP in implementing the initiative.
“We thank them for choosing the University of Dar es Salaam, for starting with us; they have chosen the right place.
Those students are likely to become future lecturers; we shall offer them cooperation as much as possible,” he pledged.
The DOCG Tanzania Branch Manager, Mr Chu Dayong, said the 12 master’s scholarships will open doors for talented Tanzanians to pursue advanced degrees in fields that he said are vital to Tanzania’s future economic.
He said their company recognises that their “responsibility extends to ensuring that Tanzanians play a leading role in the country’s growth story.”
He also said the scholars will have direct priority opportunities to work in future oil and gas industry where, he said, they will apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills to real-world challenges.
“This hands-on experience will allow them to practice their education, improve related industry capacity and contribute meaningfully to the ongoing progress of oil and gas project and the nation’s broader development goals.”
The EACOP Local Content Manager, Ms Neema Kweka, said the yesterday event demonstrates that the EACOP is implementing Tanzania’s local content policy.
