Twenty-four ExxonMobil Guyana technicians for advanced training in Canada

-50 more to be recruited next year

Operations and Maintenance technicians being briefed before returning to Canada.
Operations and Maintenance technicians being briefed before returning to Canada.

The first batch of Guyanese operations and maintenance (O&M) technicians hired by ExxonMobil Guyana for the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel are set for  Advanced Systems Training at the Cape Brenton University in Canada.

A release yesterday from ExxonMobil said that during the last several months, the 24 technicians were exposed to basic systems training in four disciplines: electrical, mechanical, instrumentation, and operations. The next 12 months will focus specific training in each craft.

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

Earl Williams who is assigned to specialize in the mechanical craft described the experience so far as life changing, the release said. It is the first time he’s been away from his family for so long but says he’s excited to be given the opportunity and plans to make full use of it.

Kathy James is one of two females on the team. “I can’t find the words to describe how happy I am for this opportunity. It is something wonderful and I know it will serve well in the future,” she stated, according to the press release.    Another trainee, Anthony Allicock, is encouraging young people to approach the oil and gas industry with an open mind.  “As someone who has zero knowledge about technical skills, I’ve learned a lot. I’d advise anyone joining the industry to be open minded and apply yourself to the work”, he said, according to the press release.

After another year of training in Canada, on-the-job training will continue on the FPSO. The release said that ExxonMobil Guyana’s development model for operations and maintenance employees is designed for trainees to advance from Technician I to III over time.

“The intent is to enhance their capacity to such a level that they are able to replace an experienced international worker”, the release added.   

The employment and training of nationals is key to ExxonMobil’s strategy of local content development, the release stated.

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