First set of graduates from Guyana Technical College now working on board Liza Unity FPSO

– more locals from BIT, CNNOC partnership to also find work in oil and gas

The first batch of 24 graduates from the Guyana Technical Training College (GTTC) have already found employment on board the Liza Unity Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, with a number of other upcoming graduates from Government sponsored programmes expected to find employment in the oil and gas sector.

This was explained by Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat, during the recent consideration of the budget estimates for his agency. The Minister was at the time explaining the programmes available for Guyanese to be trained to work in the oil and gas sector, including the Petroleum Programme at the University of Guyana (UG) which is now free.
“So that means, any young Guyanese that wants to study in the field, can go and register at University of Guyana, free of cost. Besides that, we are building out the Guyana Technical Training College in Berbice. And that Technical Training College has already graduated. I personally was at one of the graduations, where 24 Guyanese from across the country graduated and they’re working on the Liza Unity FPSO as we speak.”
“Recently another 25 were graduated from that programme. And we will continue to see young people graduating from the Guyana Technical Training College, to work in the oil and gas sector, besides the free University education. And there is a petroleum programme at the University of Guyana,” Bharrat also explained.
Added to this, there are Guyanese currently studying at China, under a scholarship programme in which the Government of Guyana partnered with Stabroek block co-venturer CNOOC. In addition, there is the Board of Industrial Training (BIT).
“We have about 10 young Guyanese, through a partnership with CNOOC, who are studying in China presently on a scholarship programme. And they will return soon to work in the oil and gas sector in Guyana,” the Minister explained.
“As well as a number of other persons who are studying through the BIT programme and other scholarship programmes, who will offer services to the oil and gas sector. That is what we are doing with regards to training, so that young Guyanese can be certified and trained to work in the oil and gas sector.”
The 24 students who graduated from Port Mourant, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) based GTTC, also known as the ‘Oil and Gas Institute’, had completed courses in instrumentation, production, electrical, and mechanical fields.
The first phase of the state-of-the-art facility was commissioned on February 9, 2024– an initiative largely led by SBM Offshore Guyana, Stabroek block partners ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC, and the Government of Guyana.

US$13 million was invested in the facility simulator dubbed FacTor, a fully functional plant that mirrors the operation of real offshore platforms using water and air and is designed to accommodate a batch of 24 students.
In December 2021, the National Assembly passed the Local Content Act, which mandates penalties such as fines ranging from $5 million to $50 million for oil and gas companies and their sub-contractors who fail to meet the minimum targets for employment and services providers that are laid out in the legislation, as well as those who are in breach of the Act.
As of November 2024, there were 1032 companies registered with the Local Content Secretariat, meaning they are in possession of a Local Content Certificate to confirm they are a Guyanese company and are eligible to supply oil and gas operations.
Additionally, more than 6,500 Guyanese have been employed in the oil and gas sector.