LIBYA: Cooperation key to tackling skills shortage in oil and gas sector

The development of competent and skilled workers is vital for a sustainable oil and gas sector in particular and the economy in Libya in general. The government has pledged a continuing process to ensure that the oil industry has adequate skilled technicians capable of maintaining and strengthening competent staff in all fields of the industry.

The initiative for continual development of technicians has contributed to an increase in the performance of the oil sector as a whole.

However, Libya needs to carry on producing skilled workers for the oil and gas sector. Demand is expected to rise sharply in the coming years, as the country plans to increase its oil and gas exploration and production activities. Libya needs to step up to the challenge to prevent a shortage of skilled workers in the future.


Promotion of cooperation between training and development departments and trainees is needed to identify a training programme that provides clear strategies and delivers the best results possible. In addition, training priorities should be reinforced in the sector’s strategies.

Training managers need support to produce clear plans, so that trainees know what they are going to learn, the types of skills they are expected to understand and how to apply these in their jobs.

It is important for companies to establish effective systems that motivate trainees, and to increase cooperation between national and foreign companies in order to benefit from the experience of foreign companies in training processes.

The oil and gas sector is Libya’s main revenue source. Therefore, the oil and gas industries not only provide the prospects for economic development, but also contribute to the modernisation of education, health and the country as a whole. Libya has done a reasonably good job of training technicians for the oil sector.

For instance, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) has two technical institutes, which train technicians for the industry. They are the Petroleum Training and Qualifying Institute in Tripoli, and the Specific Training Centre for Oil Industries in Zawia. NOC owns and finances the two institutes.

Graduates from the institutes are guaranteed employment within the oil sector, and this guarantee represents an effective investment in human resources development and capital. Libya should build on this strategy in the wider economy to tackle the critical issue of unemployment.

Higher skills

However, Libya lacks any similar training arrangements within the oil and gas sector for higher skills. The sector depends on Libyan universities and higher technical institutes that are publicly funded to train knowledgeable and skilled engineers.

But public universities and higher technical institutes do not have a close working partnership with the NOC and its oil companies, and most of their academic programmes do not address skills shortages in the sector.

NOC is set to reopen the Higher Petroleum Institute in Tobruk, which was closed shortly after Muammar Gaddafi came to power. Many of the facilities and resources of the institute have been relocated to the Bright Star University in Brega, which was not financed and owned by the NOC but was overseen by the Ministry of Higher Education. The Bright Star University suffered from corruption, negligence and lack of commitment.

Unlike the two institutes in Tripoli and Zawia, the Tobruk institute will aim to train engineers with the higher skills required by the oil and gas industries in order to meet the expected sharp rise in demand for those skills.

Most of the training for higher skills in the oil sector happens abroad, in countries such as the UK, Canada and the United States, with a very high price tag. NOC not only has to pay for courses, living and travel expenses abroad, but also has fewer technicians and engineers on site for the duration of the course.

Many of these courses can be delivered in Libya if the right investment is put in place to build training capacity and infrastructure. The US, Canada, UK and other European countries can help Libya with expertise, collaborations and partnerships in the technical-academic training sector for oil and gas industry workers.

Moreover, the oil industry in Libya is set to expand and investments in the sector are expected to pour in.

This will require NOC to increase the capacity to train technicians through more innovative programmes, for example, through closer collaboration and consultation with technical institutes and universities to devise academic and technical programmes that could respond effectively to the increased demand for skilled workers in the sector over the coming decade.

There are different approaches that Libya’s oil and gas sector can follow, based on the political and economic policies politicians will adopt.

The first approach would ensure training policies and standards are the responsibility of the government rather than employers (that is, NOC and its companies), with regulation of a dual system making it possible for employers to offer apprenticeship training at extremely low cost.

The second approach would see the responsibility for training being placed firmly with the employer and the employee within the context of a deregulated training environment – an approach that is hugely successful in the UK.

Modernisation

Libya will require close consultation and collaboration between industrialists and training providers in order to address the possibilities of shortages of skilled workers in the oil and gas sector.

It needs to direct the high number of unemployed into the sector and modernise industrial infrastructure in general and the oil and gas sector in particular in order to meet the expected rise in demand for skilled workers.

Another critical necessity for tackling the problem of lack of job readiness of graduates in Libya is partnerships between industry and academia, so that teaching at various education and training institutions is in line with industry requirements.

It is also essential to establish alliances with academic institutions on specific initiatives including internships, curriculum revision workshops and research incubation.

Libya should seek expertise and assistance from countries with advanced technical-academic training systems and programmes that are fit for purpose, to address the demand for skills in its emerging economy. Such assistance could come in the form of partnerships, consultancy and exchange of expertise.

It is high time that Libya 'rebooted' its education and training system, and joint initiatives by industry and academia will play an important part in plugging the skills gap in the years to come, especially with high expectations for a diversified and more competitive economy.