Training - Malaysia or Africa?

Over the past few years the petroleum industry has become extremely favourable for the Malaysian economy and there has been much discussion about oil and gas production for that region. However I find it fascinating to see the increase in training programs originating from Malaysia, in particularly from the federal capital of Kuala Lumpur. If you do a quick internet search you will find pages of courses on oil and gas studies in Kuala Lumpur. Now I have to admit they do host a number of important conferences for the region, but are they the real driving force for Malaysian training as the distances needed to travel there seems excessive, can African institutes offer the same courses for local and international customers? There has been a lot of invested money and facilities to make training in this region attractive, but I believe Africa could be the new hub for oil and gas training.

I have two friends, one in the UK the other in Nigeria. The UK guy went to Kuala Lumpur for training and the Nigerian friend travelled to London. Interestingly both felt training courses outside of their respective countries were of more value and the additional expense incurred was worth it for the quality of the course and instructors. What they did not know was the two training companies providing the training were owned by an umbrella company where the CEO is a personal friend of mine and showed me the training material which was used by both trainees and the courses were almost identical. Now could the training have been conducted in Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya or any other country other than Malaysia or the UK? Certainly it could have been but do the training providers offer the same quality of service and value for money? Petroleum extraction and petrochemical refining are specialised areas that need educators with a strong background within the industry and not just theoretical knowledge acquired from PhD research.

Therefore what do African training providers need to offer to pull customers away from the Asian market? Firstly all institutions need to offer the very highest quality of educational standards and quality control. The ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) is globally recognised along with the BSI (British Standards Institute) for quality control systems. Why is this important? I am a professional educator and have been a Headmaster and Principal and have seen too often institutes suffer from having no quality standards in place, which results in a lack of good quality teaching. If you had a choice of two institutes, one was cheap but did not follow any recognisable standards and another that was more expensive but had taken the time to implement internationally recognised standards, I believe most people would go for the later especially if they are willing to pay top dollar for the training.

Next institutions need to employ petroleum experts. I have seen academics take over a program and halt academic progress because of certain ideals and snobbery. Yes it is very nice being taught by a Professor; however I personally prefer educators with practical skills within the industry they are teaching. If you want to learn about business then seek a business mentor who has a proven track record, you will only learn so much from a book or from a lecturer who has never applied his or her knowledge in the real world. Professional work experience means so much more than a PhD, an oil worker will know the theory but also how to apply it and what not to apply because it either does not work or is dangerous. Once solid professionals are in place then practical experience needs to be offered to attract customers. The problem with oil rigs, they are extremely dangerous environments that need careful and constant monitoring. The last thing you want to do is to take students to an active oil field only to encounter a blowout which could result in serious injury or death. Therefore an investment must be made into modern technology and for petroleum studies this could involve a practice rig which is not producing oil but can show students how the mechanics of the system works, this would be safely controlled environment enabling students to have hands-on experience. Alternatively virtual reality is becoming very popular as a training aid. Virtual oil rigs come in a variety of formats from drilling simulators that run on an iPad, rig software for the PC and the most expensive a virtual console environment with HD screens. 

The expensive option will usually have a control deck where the student will sit, having a number of controls and joysticks to operate. In front of them there will be either one large cinema style screen or a number of LCD displays using fly-by-wire technology. This really is the future of training, so many oil companies are now investing millions of dollars to create virtual oil rigs that can be maintained from their HQ, which is often thousands of miles away. The problem with virtual rigs is they are very expensive unless you opt for a PC based solution. Therefore many universities and colleges have to partner with oil companies or other training providers to assist with the purchasing of such products.

The future is a virtual one and if your university or college does not provide such a system then I would seriously consider going elsewhere because without the hands-on experience these systems provide then your qualification is only theoretical. Heavy investment needs to be applied in these technological areas for African institutions to compete against their Malaysian counterparts. I would love to see people travelling to Africa for oil and gas courses. This continent has so much potential for the future of educational development and new technology must be placed into revenue mix. Furthermore governments should also play their part either to offer subsidised loans and equipment or to give tax breaks for educational institutes that wish to purchase new technology. This will allow Africa a chance to reach its full potential as a major player in the petroleum educational sector.