A total of 170 young graduates have gained valuable hands-on experience through the NCDMB/PETAN/SPDC Joint Venture (JV) Graduate Internship Programme, which provides training and internships with indigenous technical oilfield service companies in Nigeria’s upstream and downstream sectors.
The programme, designed to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and industry skills, has proven to be a success, with 133 of the interns securing employment with the companies they were attached to.
The most recent batch of 49 interns graduated earlier this month in a ceremony held in Port Harcourt, marking the completion of their internship, which began in 2022.
Speaking at the event, Wole Ogunsanya, Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), praised the partnership with the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) for its dedication to developing local manpower in the oil and gas sector.
“The programme is building a pipeline of talent for a critical sector of the economy, and it has become a key enabler for local content development in Nigeria,” Ogunsanya said.
The initiative was established in 2014 as a collaboration between SPDC and PETAN, providing young graduates with opportunities to work with over 100 PETAN member companies, with SPDC funding monthly stipends. The programme received a significant boost in 2022 when the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) joined the partnership, allowing the programme to expand its intake to 100 participants over two years.
SPDC’s General Manager for Nigerian Content, ‘Lanre Olawuyi, emphasized the programme’s broader significance in addressing unemployment and enhancing Nigeria’s local content capacity.
“The internship is more than a learning opportunity. It provides fresh graduates with technical expertise, equipping them with the practical skills needed to excel in their careers. It aligns with SPDC’s broader educational initiatives, contributing significantly to the actualisation of the UNESCO ‘Education for All’ agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria, particularly in the Niger Delta,” Olawuyi said.
“We owe the success of the programme to the untiring support of our JV partners, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC,) TotalEnergies and Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited for which we’re grateful.”
