Oil and gas companies were prominent among exhibitors at the University of Guyana’s three-day job fair last week at the campus.
Hundreds of mostly secondary school students availed themselves of the opportunity to learn about different careers on the opening day, April 20th. Various secondary schools were represented such as St Joseph High, L’Aventure Secondary, Marian Academy, St Rose’s High, West Demerara Secondary, Three Miles Secondary, and New Central High. On day two, April 21st there was rain but the job fair continued with good representation from secondary schools.
The fair also had a variety of booths on exhibit ranging from those specialising in forestry and banking to mining. The most prominent and popular booths present were the ones representing the oil and gas sector, specifically ExxonMobil, SBM Offshore and China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC). Asked about available positions, representatives from CNOOC said that the vacancies they were trying to fill were for geological scientists and reservoir engineers.
The representatives said students, most of whom were from fourth and fifth forms “were very excited to see what (were the jobs on offer) and how it can align with their streams.” Exhibiting for the first time on day two, CNOOC representatives said the rain had not dampened their spirits, but actually allowed for a more intimate chance of learning what their company was about and how those with the relevant qualifications could be a part of it.
Danny Seegobin, Talent Acquisition Specialist at SBM Offshore, a company whose main function is to provide oil production platforms (FPSOs) to ExxonMobil, thought the job fair was a great place to start and was happy to see so many young people interested in oil and gas.
“Yes, me being a part of the company, this is my first year. But, we would have interacted with the university as well as the institutes because of the programmes we have for the development of young Guyanese,” he stated. When asked if his exhibit had gained a lot of attention, he said, “Quite a lot of persons, in terms of career options, development plans, in terms of what they should be looking at in terms of studies, so that they could be a part of both the onshore or offshore operations. We actually have capacity building opportunities with our company and under that we have the trainee technician programme.”
The hiring, he said, “takes about seven to nine weeks to complete the entire process because we want to be sure. Hiring isn’t just about us filling positions, it’s ensuring the candidate has the opportunity to be comfortable in a position and a company that matches them.
“We’re happy to have this opportunity where we can tell a lot of Guyanese who still don’t know about SBM, to introduce our company, to tell them about our operations and to bring that awareness in terms of the oil and gas industry.”
Crazy
Varshanie Rampersaud, Business Development Officer at Century Tamara Logistic Services, which performs logistics services for oil and gas companies and is also responsible for sourcing personnel involved in the FPSOs, commented, “The traffic is crazy and I think that is a good thing. It was advertised a lot and many people are interested in knowing about the company, so it’s a great marketing opportunity. We have internships available as well as vacancies and I myself am very young. I am 18 years old and I was privileged to have the opportunity to be a part of their dynamic and to promote my business and my company.”
Another logistics company present was Guyana Logistics and Support Services, which sells itself as “the one stop shop in the oil and gas sector.” According to Human Resources Representative Loretta Singh, “Our main purpose today is to invite persons to send their applications to us where we can add to our database and also shed some light on people asking questions on what are the opportunities in the gas sector and what are the fields they would need to follow.” She urged those who are interested in the oil and gas sector but hesitant to pursue it, “Don’t let anything stop you because oil and gas isn’t just new to us as a company, but to everyone in the diaspora.” She also emphasised that there were opportunities for both women and men in the sector.
Teesha Mangra-Singh, CEO of the Agriculture and Innovation Entrepreneurship Programme, spoke about her company’s relationship with youths and its aim at the job fair. “Our initiative was born for the benefit of young people so we were able to bring awareness to our programme and to do some sensitisation,” she said. “It’s a good platform for us to recruit. We offer training and our programme uses climate-smart technology and youths are more familiar with technology. So by incorporating technology into agriculture, they are more likely to join.
“We train them (on) seedlings, from mixing of soils, to pruning and grafting practices and marketing, so everything we are able to do on our own. So in a sense, we are training them to become entrepreneurs in agriculture.”
Floyd Scott, Technical Manager at Demerara Distillers Limited, also shared his thoughts and experience. “Prior to COVID we attended all previous job fairs. The recognition of more attendees and more exhibits, I suspect [is] because of the involvement of the new sectors emerging and the booming oil sector in Guyana.
Well so far, there is a recognition of interest in trying to understand what the offerings are. My major concern is the interest of the younger generation, what is really triggering them and what is really disseminating with them for them to understand areas they could be exposed to.”
Asked about the hiring process he stated, “It is no different from any other hiring process. We take an application, then we interview you. There is also consideration for if we can hire you on sight, we’ll hire you. We’re very optimistic, because we’ve had several applicants show interest in wanting to be a part of the DDL family.”
On the matter of training he offered, “Certainly, that is a pride of ours. We value knowledge sharing and trying to grow people within our company.”
Lance Corporal Antonio Narine of the Guyana Defence Force Air Corps commented: “We have a lot of schoolchildren, which is good. We educate the young minds to do the right things.”
He explained the rigorous testing and training required to become part of the GDF Air Corps. “We have a process after this, but it is a very long process as well. Our different stages are when you come into our base Camp Ayanganna, where you will have to do a written test, a physical test as well as a medical test,” he said. Despite the training involved, Lance Corporal Narine is optimistic that his field will gain applicants from the job fair. “I’m very hopeful because we train personnel to a certain standard,” he noted,
Assistant Sales Manager of Beharry Automotive Kiran Ramkoomar said: “Once you’re hired with the company, there is a period of training which is the probation period where you undergo training in your specialty. There are seniors who can guide and this goes for all the companies in the Beharry Group. We are hoping, we know that there is a skills shortage in the country and the purpose of the fair is to capture those skills as early as possible.”
Guyana Beverages Inc (GBI) also sought to showcase and bring awareness to not just its products but the brand and company as well. Human Resources Assistant Lineza Gil said: “Lots of people don’t know us as the GBI, they know us as Busta or Fruta because those are some of the brands we distribute in Guyana. Our company has opportunities in the departments of finance, sales, delivery and marketing.” Her company, just like many others, provides training and mentorship.
Check out
Many secondary school students present, when they were asked why they were at the event, said for the most part that they were there to check out potential job opportunities specifically in the oil and gas industry. Others said they were there to tour the university’s facilities. In contrast to the vast number of secondary school students present at the fair, the turnout of university students was poor. Some of the University students present found great value in the exercise.
Aolani Toppin, a final year student majoring in entrepreneurship said that the fair was extremely helpful. “I have seen companies I’ve never heard of even during class,” she said. “All the presenters have been very articulate and you understand what exactly their businesses are about.”
Shomere Garnett, a past student of the university with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry said while he himself was not currently interested in oil and gas he knew the sector had job opportunities in his field. Ezra Bishop and Caleb Husbands, both first-year students studying mechanical engineering, agreed. Bishop said the fair opened his eyes to new opportunities in his field. Husbands added that it was unfortunate that more people weren’t aware of the fair.
However there were some with concerns. Amrita Singh, a final year student of sociology, stated that while she was interested in the oil and gas sector, she definitely noticed the disproportionate amount of attention it received, compared to the other sectors. “There’s this thing called the Dutch Disease. So given that Guyana is focusing primarily on big oil and gas, what if it fails? What happens to Guyana? That’s my concern,” she said. Similarly, Akeema Thornhill, another final year student pursuing a degree in geological engineering, found the fair to be enlightening and fairly informational though there were not a lot of geology booths.
The job fair and open day kicked off with an opening ceremony that saw remarks by Vice Chancellor Paloma Mohamed-Martin, university alumni, and other speakers.
