SUMMARY AND RATIONALE OF THE WORKSHOP
EVENT
With
the discoveries of gas in the offshore of Tanzania and more specifically in
Southern part of Tanzania (Mtwara and Lindi), a number of speculations and uncertainties
emerged as the result of what exactly is all about when it comes into gas
opportunities. Very limited job opportunities might be available in the direct
gas operations. But related and trickledown opportunities are said to account
for more than 75 per cent of gas activities. Gas sector as new in Tanzania is still struggling
with a number of key information that communities would need to know. For instance,
production of gas is said by the experts to have taken around 20 -35 years
since explorations and discoveries and until construction of LNG plant (liquidified
natural gas) and gas product.
However,
in the course of this process (from discovery until product of gas) a number of
job opportunities may be created which would require a number of skilled labors
in the gas and oil job markets. Skilled labor in the oil and gas sector is one
of the critical areas that the EEVT project is attempting to address by preparing
the youth and other people to be equipped with craftsmanship skills relevant to
gas and oil related sector.
In
this 4th of November 2013, VETA, VSO, ILO and BG Tanzania commissioned
the STOW College to conduct an in-depth vocational skills gaps study in Tanzanian
oil and gas sector. The workshop was held at ILO head office in Dar-es-salaam
with participation of a number of partners in employers, gas companies, media
people, financial organizations and amongst others. The discussion was
moderated by a prominent Journalist and activist – Generali Ulimwengu. The study
was meant to identify the skills gaps in Tanzanian gas and oil sector with the
proposed mitigation on the same. VETA Tanzania has been identified as the
potential partner in creating craftsmanship skills in the Tanzanian gas and oil
sector under EEVT project. Therefore, the study also focused on how VETA can
provide relevant skills compatible to the demands on employers in the Tanzanian
gas and oil sector.
FINDINGS
The findings were based on
the following three major areas
1.
Availability of
VET facilities and resources
2.
Capacity of VET systems
and
3.
Quality of VET
deliveries
CONLCUSION AND WAY
-
Quality as the
priority at the international level
-
Industry
participation in the EEVT project and the sector at large
- To scale up the
project
- Coordination and
dialogue with other partners
- Another meeting
will be held in the near future with more focus on the way forward about
coordination and how such challenges can be addressed collaboratively.
AN OVERALL FINDING
The
research survey has shown that VET systems face a number of challenges from
curriculums relevant on gas sector, teacher qualifications, entry
qualifications, inadequacy of facilities/infrastructures, low participation of
gas employers in VETA to practical/apprenticeship programs. However, it was quite
obvious that of all the challenges identified it was the apprenticeship
training program which seemed a pivotal to discussion.
Most
of the VETA students and more specifically from the EEVT project do not have competency
in practical operations in gas and oil sector. The participants went further by
identifying that the practical competency was not only the VETA challenge but
even more on other education institutions. The study has also proposed the VET
system to consider more on competency based assessment than academic based
assessment in order to fit in the skills of the gas and oil job markets.
