Maritime safety and petroleum institute launched

The Maritime Safety Training Institute, aimed at developing a workforce which can provide services to Guyana’s offshore oil and gas industry, was launched on Thursday.

The Institute, formed through a collaboration between TOTALTEC Oilfield Services’ owned International Petroleum and Maritime Academy (IPMA) and MATPAL Marine Institute, was unveiled at the Centre for Local Business Development on South Road, Georgetown.

Vice-President Mike Henzell noted that the venture will accelerate the building of competence to serve the Maritime and Petroleum industries.

He noted that the courses, which will be offered from 2019, are all certified by the International Maritime Organisation –the United Nations specialised agency responsible for safety and security of shipping.

“Our investments in training and development of Guyanese young men and women are unparallel and show our strong commitment to investing in people now, for the future –which is key to building a vibrant Guyanese workforce that participates in our industry,” Henzell told those gathered at the simple launching ceremony.

Through the collaboration, Henzell said MATPAL Marine Institute, which is run out of the Critchlow Labour College, will have access to IPMA’s curriculum, which includes 63 modules on the oil and gas industry.

“This enables our trainees to be certified to work in Guyana, regionally and internationally to work in petroleum and maritime industries,” he said.

According to Administrator of the MATPAL Marine Institute, Coleen Abrams, the new institute will address the issue of local content.
“We believe that with this training that we intend to bring onboard in both Maritime and oil and gas that Guyanese personnel, professionals and persons within the industry, will be able to live lives that are more economically viable and rise to a standard that is acceptable internationally,” she pointed out during an interview with the media.

She said the courses will target professionals and persons living in outlying areas.

While the MATPAL Marine Institute has been operating in Guyana for the past 19 years, the International Petroleum and Maritime Academy (IPMA) was launched earlier this year at Houston, East Bank of Demerara.

MATPAL offers maritime services, which are certified by the International Maritime organization and IPMA offers full emergent safety and operational training programmes in the oil and gas industry, including practical training on industry specific, equipment and machinery.