By Our Reporter
CNOOC Uganda Limited has awarded certificates to drivers in Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) driving. The drivers who were trained, certified and licensed can now professionally drive Heavy Goods trucks and trailers (class CH License) or rigid trucks (class CM license) and have been trained in accordance with the East African community curriculum.
The training which lasted 3 months was undertaken by Uganda Driving Standards Agency on behalf of CNOOC to meet the skills gaps in the logistics and transportation competencies especially in the oil and gas sector in Uganda.
Aminah Bukenya, the Media and Publicity Manager at CNOOC Uganda said that, “the three months training has enabled the drivers to explore and acquire more expertise in Heavy Goods vehicles Driving and Road Safety which is well in line with the national content promotion guidelines.”
This selection of trainees in this particular cohort was undertaken in partnership with Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom that supported the identification and selection of trainees from 6 districts of Kikuube, Hoima, Masindi, Buliisa and greater Kibaale together with the implementing service provider Uganda Driving Standards Agency(UDSA).
The partnership with the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom was aimed at Host Community content enhancement for potential beneficiaries from the Bunyoro Sub-Region that hosts the Kingfisher Project.
Rt. Hon. Andrew Byakutuga Ateenyi, the Prime Minister of Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom stated that “We are grateful for the partnership between CNOOC Uganda Limited and Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom and we look forward to more opportunities of working together. We want our people to be skilled enough so that we can gain from the oil and gas resource.”
Ronald Nkata, the Chief instructor of the trained students stated that, “This program has provided an interactive forum for us to share, explore and discuss concepts and issues of HGV driving and Road Safety with our trainees.”
In addition, this year CNOOC Uganda limited has sponsored the training and Certification of 120 Welders in 2G,3G,4G, 5G and 6G Coded welding to AWS international standards, 84 Teachers in the Train the Trainer program that included 5 certified programs for teachers from UPIK and UTC Kichwamba, 150 SMEs in the Enterprise development program, the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) training and certification of 60 participants that provided the engineering construction industry workforce the skills it needs to meet the challenges of the future enabling development and qualification in a wide range of craft, technical and professional disciplines.