- Human Capital Development, Key to Oil Sector Growth – PTD
The most important project that drives the growth of the oil and gas industry is human capital development, the Petroleum Technology Development Fund has said.
According to the Executive Secretary of the PTDF, Bello Gusau, the development of human capital in the oil sector is more vital than all other measures previously regarded as major drivers and resources of the industry such as oil reserves, acreages, pipelines, refineries and filling stations.
Gusau, who disclosed this at the first National Education Summit organised by the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria, stated that rapid advances in artificial intelligence, automation and human-machine interaction, had not obscured the primacy of people in the running of oil and gas business.
He said human capital was central to the development, performance and sustainability of resources and tools deployed in the industry, adding that efforts must be stepped up to recruit more talented oil and gas graduates into the industry and increase interest among current employees to sustain existing human resources pool.
Gusau was quoted in a statement issued by the PTDF in Abuja as saying, “The question then becomes what can we do to ensure the development of the critical mass of human resources to satisfy the needs of the oil and gas industry and to ensure the sustainability of Nigeria’s local content aspirations?”