Job hunting in oil sector goes online

Mr Ernest Rubondo, Petroleum Authority of Uganda executive director. FILE PHOTO 

In Summary

Updated. Job hunters will have to use online services under the National Oil and Gas Talent Register to get updates on available opportunities.

By Eronie Kamukama

Kampala. Ugandans who intend to get jobs in the oil and gas sector will have to apply online, according to the Petroleum Authority of Uganda.

According to Petroleum Authority of Uganda, the oil sector regulator, the new online portal will include job listings in the sector across the board, from oil companies to service providers.

The portal - the National Oil and Gas Talent Register - is one of the measures to ensure and keep track of participation of Ugandans in the lucrative nascent sector.

“We are registering all Ugandans who are competent. We have [more than] 400 job profiles in the system. Some of the profiles are technical, support while others are basic,” Ms Peninah Aheebwa, the Petroleum Authority of Uganda director technical support services, said at the weekend. The National Oil and Gas Talent Register is a statutory requirement that emphasizes the employment of Ugandans in the oil and gas sector.

The development comes towards the commencement of the development and construction phase of the country’s oil and gas sector, which will see the peak of manpower requirements of the sector.

Met with concerns
Recent efforts to increase numbers of skilled workers for the sector have in some districts been met with concerns.

As companies awaited production licences, oil activity went down in the past, creating redundancies and job losses for some companies.

Mr Ernest Rubondo, the Petroleum Authority of Uganda executive director, said activity in the oil sector is picking up, urging people to continue skilling themselves.

“In 2016, investment was about $100m, in 2017, it was about $140m and for 2018, it looks like it will be $428m,” he said, adding: “Every place where the oil and gas sector is, there is an up and downturn so whether you are supplying goods and services, or employed in the sector, you have to predict and be aware that that time will come.”

BRIGHTER 2019
According to Petroleum Authority of Uganda, total manpower requirements for the sector are estimated to be around 160,000 people including casual, technical and professional.

Data from Petroleum Authority of Uganda indicates that for direct employment in 2017, on average, 36.5 per cent, 68 per cent and 78 per cent of the employees at management, technical and other staff, respectively, are Ugandans.

This is against the targets of 30 per cent, 40 per cent and 95 per cent for the first five years of a licence.