MATPAL Marine Institute and TOTALTEC Oilfield Services have joined resources and expertise to launch the Maritime Safety Training Institute (MSTI).
The launch was held yesterday at the Centre for Local Business Development, where Mike Henzell, the Senior Vice-President of TOTALTEC Oilfield Services Guyana stated that his company is the only training institute in Guyana that offers full immersion oil and gas safety and operational training programmes which includes training on industry specific equipment and machinery, while MATPAL is the only Guyanese training institute which offers certified maritime training courses.
“The Maritime Safety Training Institute will develop state-of-the-art facilities for maritime and safety-related training. We are investing in Guyana’s future by employing qualified instructors, equipment and new physical facilities to deliver all facets of this highly specialised training,” Henzell said.
According to him, the courses that will be offered are all certified by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). “Through this alliance, our MSTI graduates will have IMO certifications and MATPAL graduates will have access to IPMA’s curriculum, which includes 63 modules of oil and gas industry specific safety and operations courses.”
The Maritime Safety Training Institute is expected to accelerate the building of competence, local capacity and capabilities of Guyanese to serve and respond to the oil and gas maritime industries. Through the collaboration the companies also intend on addressing the issue of local content through training and plan on adopting standards that are nationally and internationally accepted.
Coleen Abrams, a representative of the MATPAL Marine Institute, who gave brief remarks at the launch, said, “This collaboration embodies a vision that we at MATPAL… have had for years and has now become a reality. As is widely known and said, collaboration is no longer a strategy but a key to long-term business success.” Abrams further stressed the importance of collaboration, while stating that companies are better able to put their experience, knowledge and skillsets together to yield positive outcomes.
Abrams noted, “As is often said, no man is an island and to us at MATPAL Marine while we have been providing safety related training within the maritime industry of Guyana, we wholeheartedly believe that this saying is true especially when looking at the contributions of regional and international entities that work alongside each other to further develop the maritime and oil and gas sector.”
Abrams ended her remarks saying, “As we embark on our various maritime and oil and gas courses under the Maritime Safety Training Institute, we look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead for aspiring Guyanese professionals and industry personnel. It is our plan to enrich all with the requisite training, knowledge and skills needed to remain sustainable”.
