As the discussion of local content and Guyana’s preparation for the nascent oil and gas industry continues, a former Government Technical Institute student who now works with Saipem (an Italian oil and gas industry contractor) is saying to youths that it is not too late to get prepared and educated for the myriad job opportunities that come with the sector.
“Keep positive, don’t lose your focus but prepare, do prepare because there are opportunities and not just at the low[er] tier level. I am an example of that,” 20-year-old Robin Vanhershal told the Sunday Stabroek during an interview.
“Don’t listen to people that [say] you have to know someone to get a job in the sector, I did not know a single soul. I saw an ad, I applied and here I am before you today “he added.
From a small village in the Essequibo River- Riverview, Goshen – where his childhood peers would laugh and mock him because he had to sell snacks for the family’s upkeep, Vanhershal proudly tells of not only overcoming personal financial and other obstacles but boasts of the training opportunities that were afforded to him by the company he is now employed with as a Quality Materials Coordinator.
“It has been a tough childhood. To get money for us to go to school, my mom had a small business, which is a snackette -a portable one where we had a boat and took the stuff to sell on the boat and my father is a logger. We used to make stuff like egg balls, channa, chicken foot and we would sell every Sunday but some days I would go walking in the sun to sell sweet drinks and snacks. We travelled up the Essequibo to a place called Falmouth and then to another village. We had a whistle to indicate that we were coming and people would line the River banks. The children would laugh at me and call me names about egg ball…,” he recalled.
“In Guyana, some of the youths have pride selling these things and what’s not. My mom sent me and I would be teased…but I don’t mind, because whenever the day was done, it was me that was happy because we made some money. I had to use the finance from there to get to school, “he added while pointing out that he believes that it was the times that he was mocked that made him stronger in his resolve to do well academically.
He said that a typical day for the family of nine, who lived in a home “not more than 15 by 20 feet, would start sometimes as early as 3:30am for his mother and 4 am for the seven children and his father. They would have to be ready to board a boat by 5:30 am to journey to Bartica, then by bus to various schools. His was the Three Miles School in Bartica, Potaro.
Vanhershal said that as a child he always endeavoured to excel academically because he believed that education would afford him a job where he can assist his family and provide similar opportunities for his siblings, although he is the 5th of the seven children.
He would realise those dreams as he passed through his primary and secondary school with honours.
Then it was time to write the Caribbean Examinations Council Examination (CSEC) and he thought that his hopes were dashed as his parents informed him that they could not pay the fees, even if it was subsidised by government, because they were at a low point financially. “My parents couldn’t afford to pay my CSEC fees so I thought that was the end of me. But my aunt came though and she paid it,” he said smiling.
When he received his results he was overjoyed because he passed all nine of the subjects he wrote.
Vanhershal said that he wanted a career in mechanical and electrical engineering and he applied for a Government of Guyana Scholarship through the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs and received it. But he explained that he did part-time jobs for persons to supplement the stipend given by the government because the expenses were many.
In 2018, during his second year at the institute, representatives of Saipem came to his school and met with students to discuss career opportunities. He said that his interest was piqued in the sector but he focussed on completing his studies. “Saipem came to my school in June 2018, when I was about [to write] my exam. They made a presentation about the company and they talked about the Liza [1] project. During that they talked about career opportunities. One of our lecturers told us we must walk with our CVS and a lot of us did. At the end of that they [were] collected, through Strategic Recruitment,” he said.
Got a call
“I forgot about it and proceeded to study for exams but got a call. They asked me if I am me and they said they are calling from Saipem America and they asked me if I am interested in an offer. As you know, there are these scam things so I was thinking it was a scam. So I played along with it. Until the interview date when I got to see who it was, I said ‘you know what, this is true and this is real. It is going to happen’ and I rushed to get my paperwork done,” he added.
The company would take four young locals from the school on a three-day workshop with the country manager here.
Saipem requested that Vanhershal verify his personal documents and the day he was scheduled submit them, he was nearly robbed.
“I dodged from paying a $1000 taxi to paying a $100 bus and the guys on the street tried to rob me. They hit me in this eye and started fighting me for my [bag] but I fight back. I didn’t want them to take my passport et cetera. I fight with them and them me and everyone looked on and no one helped,” he said declaring that he did not let go of his documents.
When he arrived for his interview the next day, his face was swollen and his clothing was wrinkled because there was a power outage that morning. He explained his situation to his new boss, who facilitated the workshop and interview and he said that the person told him they understood and that it would not affect the interview. “He said ‘It is OK Robin’.”
Following the workshop, the company did an evaluation and all four of them were told that they would be sent to the United States for hands-on training, in different fields.
“They gave us an internship and we went on a three month hands-on training programme where we saw things differently versus things in Guyana. Safety is a big thing [and] things are not the same as in Guyana when it comes to standards. That is where I developed high standards [for safety].
The three-month programme would see the four youths in Louisiana and Houston and Channelview in Texas.
Vanhershal is responsible for the inspection of the pipes and other fittings for offshore rig work and the company, according to him, trained him to know what to look for and what to flag. He said that his job was to ensure that the coated pipes have no defects or damage.
Explaining his job, where he is now based at Water Street, he said, “ My scope of work, I am responsible for the products, before we send them offshore , that they are without defects, that is the coatings on the pipe is good no damage. Some of the other equipment, like the initiation heads that they put on the end, you have to make sure it is not eroded. We have to make sure the NDT inspectors perform their jobs as [they] should…” he said.
“The engineering knowledge I got from there helped me a lot to prepare my mind to think outside of the box. The engineering knowledge is not that high but it gave me a great boost into quality,” he added.
He said youths should grab the opportunities available at the technical institutions because oil will be here for many years and now is not too late to begin preparing. “You don’t have to know someone. Go through the process. Going through the process is better than knowing someone because when you do they will feel you owe them. When you fail to do what they ask you to do they will think of you as something? So it is better for you to go on your own than to have to hear anyone say ‘you know I did this for you and that is why you should do this for me’. I didn’t have to know someone,” he emphasised.
