Local content drive: Samsung(SHI) begins overseas training programme for Nigerian youths

In its supportive efforts at ensuring that the local content input drive in the oil and gas sector is realised to meet Federal Government's transformation agenda, Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), has sent the first group of  20 young Nigerian trainees, to Samsung’s shipyard in Geoje, South Korea on an extensive training programme.
Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), is a foremost world class shipbuilding and offshore fabrication company.
The company’s  commitment to training Nigerians was first announced on February 6, with the ground breaking of its new world class training facility in LADOL Free Zone, called (“Samsung Nigeria Technology Academy”).
The training facility will cost about USD 10 million and will benefit from having Samsung’s world class training programs and equipment.
Samsung has however, gone a step further by launching Samsung’s Intensive Technical Training Programme, providing full scholarships for young Nigerians to also be trained at itsworld class facility in Korea.
The scholarship programme run by Samsung exclusively for young Nigerians, would cost the South Korea based company a sum of $300,000 to train each group of twenty trainees.
Speaking at the pre-departure ceremonies for the youths at Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos last week, the General Manager SAMSUNG Heavy Industries in Nigeria, Mr. Frank Ejuzi told journalists that the company decided to key in to the training of Nigerian youths to meet the local content initiative of President Goodluck Jonathan by sending the youths for training in South Korea to acquire technology which they are expected acquire and transfer  to the oil and gas sector of the economy.
“ In order to recover the Nigerian local content initiative of Mr President, we felt it is important to support that initiative and my company is sending the first batch of youths in the oil and gas sector for training in Korea in other for them to transfer the technology to our other youths back home,” said Ejuzi
Samsung’s commitment to training Nigerians ahead of any contract award demonstrates the Company’s true intention to share technology with and promote local content in Nigeria. Samsung believes in promoting mutual prosperity with Nigeria by enabling Nigerians to fully participate in and contribute to the world class offshore fabrication projects.
For Samsung this is the start of a long-term relationship with Nigeria and they have already shown themselves to be unique amongst their peers, being the first and only international contractor to proactively begin training Nigerians, before winning any contracts in Nigeria.
Samsung believes Nigeria will be the hub for oil and gas in West Africa and their long-history of success in this industry has taught them that the key to harnessing success and achieving local content is investment in people. By making huge investments in Nigeria’s human capital Samsung is helping to finally unleash Nigeria’s potential.
Samsung has been working with the first group of trainees, (17 men and three women) for over a month already, preparing them for the program, including one week of social training. So the group was very well prepared when they left on Saturday.
In South Korea, the group will be trained for a full month at Samsung’s state-of-art Shipbuilding and Fabrication Yard in Geoje.
The group will be trained by teachers that are world -skills- champions, in range of fabrication related subjects. At the end of the month the group will be eligible to acquire up to four internationally accredited certificates.
Also speaking at the  pre-departure ceremony, two of the beneficiaries agreed that the overseas intensive training would give them the appropriate knowledge needed in the oil and gas field.
According to Mr  Henry Ototo an environmental Engineer,  the successful completion of the programme certify him internationally in welding and fabrication in oil and gas industry.
“I just want to thank Samsung heavy industry for keying –in into President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda because, youths of today, they said, are the leaders of tomorrow and we are going for an intensive  training at Koje and we want to let Samsung management know that we will not let them down and even our country Nigeria .We will come back and harness what would have been impacted into us from Koje into our own society”
Also Miss Duze Cornelius Anthony another beneficiary of the training programme and who is an engineering graduate from the Niger Delta  said, ‘the programme is going to better my life because before I had no job as an engineer but I was teaching. Instead of practicing my profession as an engineer, I was teaching , but today I am happy that Samsung is giving me the opportunity to showcase my professional ability as an engineer and that is going to better my lots and those around me.
She continues, “we are talking about oil and gas, we are talking about welding and fabrication and I think that I would be privileged to work in the oil and gas industry and they are saying that when we come back we will have the privilege of training others, it is also going to better my community as those who have not been to Korea would benefit from the experience I would be acquiring from there.”