More Women Needed in Petroleum Sector – Dr. Amin Adams

The Deputy Minister for Energy, in-charge of Petroleum, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has called for the need to include women in the Petroleum industry.

According to him, the employment rate of females in the industry remains was not encouraging, entreating companies in the sector to employ more females in key positions.

Speaking at a workshop on the theme, “Job creation and Human Resource Development in Ghana’s Upstream Petroleum Sector” in Accra Dr. Amin Adam said “The number of women among new graduates are increasing, but their employment rate remains below that of men. The situation is worse in the Petroleum industry.”

The Petroleum Commission since its inception has achieved a lot in terms of facilitating and ensuring the placement of Ghanaians in the industry.

A data from 337 companies released in 2017 indicates that the Petroleum industry engaged over 12,000 indigenous Ghanaians, with about 390 and 1000 Ghanaians occupying management and technical positions.”

However, the rate of females employed in the industry remains low, as it has been preserved of men.

Dr. Amin Adam mentioned that, “Companies in the industry should engage Ghanaian interns to help them develop their competence. Our agenda is clear that we need to take action and work together in order to make sure that people and their skills are at the heart of inclusive growth.”

Guidelines To Address Pay Gap

The Petroleum Commission has announced that it will soon roll out new guidelines for the upstream petroleum sector.

The proposed guidelines will focus on salaries, and employment opportunities.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Egbert Faibille Jnr, enforcement of the existing guidelines will commence on June, 1 while work continues on proposed ones.

He mentioned that the guidelines will strengthen local content participation and bridge the pay gap between Ghanaian and expatriate workers in the sector.

The one-day workshop was organized by the Commission, in a quest to enhance the implementation of local content and local participation in the upstream petroleum industry.

Participants at the workshop included International Oil Companies, government agencies, service providers, training and academic institutions.

By: Emmanuel Yeboah Britwum/ thePublisher