More than 19 lakh people to be trained over next 10 years under Hydrocarbon Skill Sector Council

More than 19 lakh people will be trained over the next 10 years in the oil and gas sector to cater to the rising skill needs of the future as the industry expands in a growing economy, according to a government road-map for the sector. The Hydrocarbon Skill Sector Council (HSSC), set up by the government under its Skill India initiative, has prepared a road map for training people in the sector.

It has projected the need to train 19 lakh people, including the younger men and women that would join workforce through the decade as well as the existing employees engaged permanently or on short-term contracts with oil firms.

With a million new job seekers each month, India needs to go full throttle on skilling its people in order to match their capabilities with the job opportunities, a 7.6% annual economic growth is throwing up. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has brought in special thrust in this area by involving government, industry and experts to identify the current and future skill needs and preparing a roadmap for producing those skills.

The Indian hydrocarbon sector has been rapidly expanding. With fuel consumption growing 11% in 2015-16 and expected to maintain a fast clip, the oil companies have to add more refining capacity, lay new pipelines, build fresh storage and set up new filling stations. The government has also set an ambitious target for ramping up domestic oil and gas production that has been on a decline for years. All this would require oil companies to hire more skilled people and upgrade the skills of the existing workforce.

The HSSC has identified 134 roles pertaining to the upstream, midstream, downstream as well as construction and services in the hydrocarbon sector. These roles would vary from a technical assistant involved in drilling to a chemist at a refinery, operator at a petrochemicals plant, and a gas cutter.

To offer training, six skill development institutes will be set up. One institute in Andhra Pradesh is already operational. These institutes will need active collaboration with industry to churn out quality workforce. Oil and Natural Gas Corp, Reliance Industries, Cairn India, Indian Oil Corp and other oil companies have already pledged support for the government’s skilling initiative.

The council will lead the endeavor aimed at creating a pool of skilled manpower and boost the competitiveness of the Indian industry.

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