By Mustapha Kamara Jnr
Crown Technical University College, an affiliated institution to the Cambridge University in England, has concluded a two-day seminar which aims to capacitate Sierra Leoneans in the management of the petroleum and gas sector of the country.
The seminar was held at the college campus on Pike Street in Freetown. Beneficiaries were drawn from among final year students of the college.
Alex Bangura, Executive Director of the Institute of Petroleum Managers and head of department of the Petroleum Management at Crown University Sierra Leone, said the purpose of the workshop was to capacitate and prepare the students who had completed courses in petroleum management for the job market. He said the move was in line with the college’s plans to host a national conference on oil and gas for students in the related field from all tertiary institutions in the country to have the opportunity to meet with experts in the oil and gas industry.
“We want to capacitate better students that would be able to manage petroleum, crude oil and natural gas that is yet to be mined in the country,” he said.
Bangura cited a research conducted by the college which revealed that Sierra Leone lacked competent people qualified and trained in petroleum management.
Therefore, he said, the college was preparing students who would be able to manage petroleum and oil companies’ better to ensure the country was able to benefit from the industry.
Samuel Powers, professional electrical engineer and lecturer at the Crown University Sierra Leone, said there was a need for Sierra Leoneans to be trained to be qualified in petroleum and oil management because “our market lacks competent individuals who are trained in the management of petroleum.”
Powers spoke about the need to invest on research to improve on renewable energy. He said this was a key area the government could explore with a view to improve electricity supply and generate revenue.
“Unfortunately, Sierra Leone investors are not interested to invest in renewable energy projects,” he said.
Power said there were lots of waste materials and natural energy in the country that needed to be transformed.
(C) Politico 13/08/15
