In light of the growing demand for skills in Namibia’s petroleum industry, PETROFUND Chief Executive Officer, Nillian Mulemi said there is a need to intensify capacity development efforts in anticipation of the sector’s expansion.

Speaking at a local hotel in Windhoek during the renewal of PETROFUND’s partnership with Baker Hughes at the company’s Supplier Day event, Mulemi underscored the importance of preparing Namibians to participate meaningfully in the evolving petroleum value chain.

As part of this renewed collaboration, PETROFUND and Baker Hughes signed a memorandum of understanding to support the Field Service Engineer Training Programme. This initiative offers specialised on-the-job training for young professionals and university graduates in disciplines relevant to Baker Hughes’ operations.

The programme aims to immerse trainees in real industry settings, equipping them with practical experience, technical expertise and professional development opportunities in line with international standards.

TechnipFMC recently hosted a closing ceremony for a specialised six-month Subsea Engineering Programme, which benefited 25 engineering students from the Namibia University of Science and Technology in Windhoek.

As part of the programme, the students were challenged to develop a Namibia-focused subsea project to demonstrate their understanding of the course content. Winners were recognised and awarded for outstanding presentations.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, PETROFUND’s Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Lead, Shoki Kandjimi congratulated TechnipFMC for initiating this specialised programme and reaffirmed the Fund’s commitment to supporting skills development initiatives in the oil and gas sector. He further commended the students for their achievement and encouraged them to apply their newly acquired skills to actively participate in the industry.

The Petroleum Training and Education Fund (PETROFUND) and McDermott have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance Namibia’s energy talent pipeline.

The partnership seeks to foster collaboration on academic and industrial training initiatives within Namibia’s upstream oil and gas sector.

PETROFUND CEO, Nillian Mulemi, said: “Capacity-building collaborations with international service companies facilitate the exchange of global best practices and technical expertise with local talent, thereby positioning Namibia’s workforce and service providers to play active roles across the full value chain of the upstream industry, while driving and sustaining economic growth in the country.”