Oil &Gas: Bunyoro Wants More As CNOOC Gives 110 Locals Opportunity To Train As Drivers Of Heavy Goods Trucks & Trailers

Andrew Byakutaaga Ateenyi, the Prime Minister of Bunyoro Kingdom (with kingdom flag) is joined by other kingdom officials and representatives from CNOOC, Joint Venture Partners to officially launch the training programme for this cohort

CNOOC Uganda Limited, an oil and gas company has Tuesday launched the Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) drivers Training and Licensing Program 2022 that will see 110 drivers trained, Licensed and certified to professionally drive Heavy Goods trucks and trailers (class CH License) or rigid trucks (class CM license) in accordance with the East African community curriculum.

The event took place at Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom headquarters.

The training will be executed by Uganda Driving Standards Agency (UDSA) on behalf of CNOOC to meet the skills gaps in the logistics and transportation competencies especially in the oil and gas sector in Uganda.

Uganda government and the Joint Venture Partners took FID early this year, a significant milestone for the people of Uganda which shall unlock billions of dollars of investment in Uganda’s oil and gas sector.

This decision paved the way for progress on contract awards as all major engineering, procurement and construction contracts have been awarded and are currently on-going or under mobilization to start execution.

Mathew Kyaligonza, the National Content Manager CNOOC Uganda Limited, said the long term strategic pillars of CNOOC and the Joint Venture partners, are quality and enhancement for sustainable development of the oil and gas resource.

He said transportation is also among the goods and services to be provided by Ugandan companies, Ugandan citizens and Registered entities as detailed in the Petroleum (Exploration, Development and Production) (National Content) Regulations, 2016.

“We have always put safety at the forefront of our business and that is why it is important to train these drivers who shall work with us or our contractors especially during the development stage,” Kyaligonza said.

The three-month training will enable the trained drivers to explore and acquire more expertise in Heavy Goods Vehicles Driving and Road Safety which is well in line with the national content promotion guidelines.

He said the selection of trainees in this particular cohort was undertaken in partnership with Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom that supported the identification and selection of trainees from 8 districts of Kikuube, Hoima, Masindi, Buliisa, Kiryandongo, Kakumiro, Kibaale and Kagadi together with the implementing service provider Uganda Driving Standards Agency(UDSA).

The partnership with the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom was aimed at Host Community content enhancement for potential beneficiaries from the Bunyoro Sub-Region that hosts the Kingfisher Project, he said.

Kyaligonza added that the training will enhance the knowledge and practice of professional driving among Ugandan HGV drivers by training them according to the East African Community standardized curriculum for drivers of large commercial vehicles and/or international standards for HGV drivers.

“In the interest of ensuring that the training maintains national social distancing and the Training Standard Operating Procedures to prevent COVID-9, the program shall maintain 4 trainees per instructor per day and only 1 trainee in a truck during practical sessions. This arrangement shall enable the Trainee to have ample time with their respective instructors during the training,” he said.

Andrew Byakutaaga Ateenyi, the Prime Minister of Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom said over 700 people applied to participate in this training but only 110 were given opportunity.

He called for the systematic planning of the region as provided for in the oil and gas policy.

“Some developments are not well planned. We want all developments well planned and orderly so that the beauty of our region is not compromised,” he said, calling on Government and Joint Venture companies to take action on this.

He applauded CNOOC for the great support towards the kingdom.

“We are grateful for the partnership between CNOOC Uganda Limited and Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom and we look forward to more opportunities of working together. We want our people to be skilled enough so that we can gain from the oil and gas resource,” Byakutaaga said.

He however, noted that the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities of oil companies and partners have concentrated in the districts of Hoima, Buliisa and Kikuube where oil operations are yet the other districts within the Kingdom are equally affected by the oil and gas activities.

“We appreciate the support but we need to work together to spread these benefits to other districts which are not necessarily the hosting oil activities in Bunyoro because some, by extension they also get affected by these activities. It is our wish that we have more trainings of this nature in various fields,” he said, requesting CNOOC and Joint Venture Partners to also train the other 600 that applied but were not given an opportunity.

Ronald Nkata, the Chief instructor of the trained students stated that “This three (3) months program shall provide an interactive forum for us to share, explore and discuss concepts and issues of HGV driving and Road Safety with our trainees. “

In addition, this year CNOOC Uganda Limited is sponsoring the training and Certification of 160 Welders in 2G,3G,4G, 5G and 6G Coded welding to AWS international standards, 84 Teachers in the Train the Trainer program that included 5 certified programs for teachers from different Ugandan Vocational Training institutions (VTIs), 150 -200 SMEs in the Enterprise development program, the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) training and certification of 60 participants that shall provide the engineering construction industry workforce the skills it needs to meet the challenges of the future enabling development and qualification in a wide range of craft, technical and professional disciplines.

As an energy company with a strong sense of social responsibility, CNOOC Uganda Limited is committed to National Content promotion to enable Ugandans to tap into the opportunities in the oil and gas sector.

CNOOC Uganda Limited along with its key JV Partners TotalEnergies and UNOC have been involved in long term planning and strategies to ensure the first oil by 2025. We are close to the finish line and we hope that we can work together to attain this dream.