Guyana’s oil sector is emerging as a key training ground for energy sector professionals, with some predicting that Guyanese workers will soon be in demand internationally as the country continues to build its local talent pipeline. Country Lead for Halliburton Guyana, Vahman Jurai, endorses this view.
“What I see within a very short time, maybe in the next five years, is actually Guyanese starting to move out and take international assignments,” Jurai said during a panel discussion at the Guyana Energy Conference held from held from February 18-21. The panel discussed “Building a Future-ready Workforce: Skills, Training and Education for a Diversified Economy.”
“Guyana right now is what we call the hotspot and one of the greatest locations to be trained,” Jurai said.
Jurai added that after working for about five years, workers trained by oil companies are generally competent to work in any location. As such, industry leaders predict that within the next five years, trained Guyanese professionals will be in high demand in the Caribbean and oil-producing nations across Africa and Latin America.
Nicholas Tuma, Regional Human Resources Director for the Caribbean at SLB, said: “I anticipate that in five years my position would be occupied by a Guyanese national…Several of our business leaders…will be Guyanese nationals or other Caribbean nationals that will be taking those roles.”
Currently, companies are focused on strengthening Guyana’s workforce and preparing local professionals for both domestic and international opportunities.
The energy sector has absorbed thousands of local workers, so much so that Stena Carron Rig Manager, Tim Swain, reported that about 90% of their offshore workforce is now Guyanese. Swain said the company has had to look at non-oil sectors like mining and hospitality to find hires with transferable skills. He described having the privilege of watching some of those personnel progress through the ranks over the past eight years. Despite the surge in hiring, Swain said the country is hitting a plateau since the remaining vacancies require specialized skills that the local workforce has yet to develop.
“Guyana doesn’t have a nautical college that can provide personnel with these skills. “That’s the challenge we need to face, and I think it requires investment from the government,” he said.
However, Swain believes providing local workers with more opportunities for government sponsored studies abroad is more feasible than establishing a nautical college in Guyana.
Companies in the oil sector have been pulling talent from traditional industries. Dr. Martin Pertab, Director of Guyana’s Local Content Secretariat, acknowledged that some companies struggle to retain staff as workers are attracted by higher paying oil jobs. “It’s kind of difficult, especially in the industry, to source some of the very same skill-sets that are needed in the non-oil industry. In fact, from my organization itself, I’ve suffered the loss of one of my top accountants [who] joined one of the oil and gas companies,” Pertab said.
The Local Content Act mandates that companies employ a minimum percentage of Guyanese workers at various levels to obtain local content certification. The government is now promoting improved career mobility, ensuring that local workers entering the industry can advance into leadership roles.
“Five years ago, the discussion was more of… we don’t have the experience, we don’t have the know-how, which was true,” Pertab said. “But now, we have Guyanese that have been in the system for more than five years, and we expect that certain positions that are non-technical, we expect to see Guyanese taking up those positions very soon.”
While Guyana’s workforce is expanding, companies are also looking ahead to emerging trends in energy. Tuma said there will be demand for Guyanese professionals to develop skills in artificial intelligence, sustainability, and carbon management as the industry evolves. “In order for Guyana to be able to meet this need within the next five years, and SLB in particular, we have to be very intentional,” Tuma said.
Tuma believes the push for inclusiveness should focus on attracting women and individuals from underrepresented communities with the necessary skills. He emphasized the importance of companies adapting to a younger workforce, leveraging the digital fluency of new employees while ensuring knowledge transferal from experienced professionals.
According to Pertab, preliminary estimates, based on submissions to the Local Content Secretariat, indicate companies in the oil sector will spend USD22 million this year to upskill Guyanese workers, a sharp increase from USD4.5 million last year. Through partnerships with oil companies, the government last year rolled out a paid internship program introducing final-year technical students to the industry.
According to Pertab, many interns have secured full-time jobs within the sector. The internship program will continue this year; however, experts like Pertab stress the need for a more sustainable talent pipeline that extends beyond the oil and gas industry. A technical training institute for oil and gas in Port Mourant is expected to be completed by late 2026. The school is a partnership between the Guyana government and several lead players in the local oil sector, including ExxonMobil and SBM Offshore.
