By Issah Mohammed
Accra, July 22, GNA – Inadequate training facilities, lack of accredited programmes and delays in establishing a specialised training centre are preventing Ghana’s tertiary institutions from preparing skilled personnel for the upstream petroleum industry, the Auditor-General has found.
The constraints had limited the ability of instructors trained under the Petroleum Commission’s Accelerated Oil and Gas Capacity (AOGC) Programme to transfer internationally acquired expertise because their institutions lacked the facilities and certifications required to deliver industry-standard training.
The findings are contained in the Auditor-General’s report on the implementation of the AOGC Programme.
The report said the Commission sponsored 24 beneficiaries to undertake internationally certified train-the-trainer programmes at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Canada and Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NAP) in Singapore.
Five of the beneficiaries- two from Kikam Technical Institute, two from Takoradi Technical University and one from Suame Magazine in Kumasi-left the country after completing their mandatory two-year bond, the report said.
It said the remaining 19 trainers were still serving at their institutions but had been unable to fully deploy the specialised knowledge acquired.
“This was because the training they acquired prepared them to train others in institutions/centres modelled after NAIT, Canada, but their current institutions did not have the required equipment and certifications,” the report stated.
The audit cited a Technician Instructor at Ho Technical University who completed a nine-month training programme in welding, pipefitting and millwright at NAIT in May 2021 and returned to Ghana in 2022.
According to the report, the instructor obtained a Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB) Level I certification as a trainer of trainers but had been unable to apply the full range of his expertise.
“He said the University lacked the accredited curriculum and facilities to train students in professional welding for the upstream oil and gas sector. He added that his certification expired in 2024,” the report said.
The Auditor-General said the case illustrated how instructors trained to international standards could not fully utilise the knowledge acquired because of inadequate institutional capacity.
The report also found that two instructors at the Regional Maritime University, Nungua, who had been trained in pipefitting, had no pipefitting facility to train students on their return.
It said instructors trained in pipefitting and welding at four other beneficiary institutions faced similar constraints because their institutions lacked accredited welding facilities capable of certifying students for employment in the upstream petroleum industry.
Officials of the affected institutions told auditors that obtaining accreditation was costly and that they were uncertain of attracting sufficient enrolment to recover the investment through tuition fees.
The audit also identified delays in establishing the proposed Welding and Pipefitting Centre of Excellence at Takoradi Technical University, which is intended to provide a specialised training environment modelled after NAIT.
The report said the University allocated a 2.1-acre parcel of land to the Commission in 2021 for the project and that feasibility studies had been completed.
However, construction had not begun by the time of the audit in August 2025 because the Commission had yet to secure the estimated US$13.9 million required.
“According to PC officials, the facility will serve as a training hub for the trainers to fully deploy the knowledge gained but PC was yet to commence construction. They added that they had completed the feasibility studies and were yet to secure funding of US$13.9 million for the construction of the facility hence the delay in the establishment of the Centre,” the report said.
The Auditor-General also found that equipment donated by Maersk Drilling in 2024, comprising 17 inverter welding machines with accessories and an overhead crane for the proposed centre, remained in storage and in its original packaging because construction had not commenced.
“According to Management of PC, the equipment was properly handled and preserved pending the completion of the project,” the report noted.
The report recommended that the Commission facilitate accreditation of training facilities at institutions offering upstream oil and gas programmes and expedite efforts to secure funding for the Centre of Excellence through intensified stakeholder engagement and diversified funding mechanisms.
In its response, the Commission said it remained committed to the objectives of the AOGC Programme and was pursuing sustainable funding partnerships with industry operators and development partners.
The Commission said it would intensify stakeholder engagements and explore diversified funding mechanisms to ensure effective implementation of its training mandate and strengthen future capacity-building initiatives.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Issah Mohammed