Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Government wants more youths in the oil and gas (O&G) industry in line with efforts to develop the industry in the State.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said Sabah had recorded a historic achievement through the establishment of SMJ Sdn Bhd, which is a fully State-owned O&G company, following the signing of the Commercial Cooperation Agreement (CCA) with Petronas last year.
“We greatly appreciate the cooperation by Petronas, through CCA, marking the first step in ensuring the people of Sabah benefit from the State’s resources.
“This means greater involvement for Sabah in the upstream petroleum business, as well as in the midstream and downstream oil and gas, which in turn increases Sabah’s participation in the O&G industry and its value chain.
“I share the desire to see Sabah’s oil, gas and energy resources contribute to the State’s development. Together with its people, Sabah has fought for a fair solution to benefit from its oil and gas resources,” he said when opening the 10th TAS Institute of Oil and Gas graduation ceremony at Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP) in Kota Kinabalu on July 23.
A total of 90 students graduated with an Advanced Diploma in Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) in Engineering Operations.
A total of 1,700 Sabahan have thus far successfully obtained their BTEC Advanced Diploma in Engineering Operations by TAS.
Meanwhile, Hajiji hoped to see the training centre, which is now entering its 14th year, to play a role in producing trained and efficient technical workforce in order to meet the needs of the oil and gas industry.
He said Sabah is in dire need of human capital with knowledge and high skills, including in oil and gas, to continue to drive the State’s development to greater heights.
“This commitment is also in line with the focus of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah-Barisan Nasional (GRS-BN) Government on key sectors in the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) plan to drive the recovery of the State’s economic growth,” he said.
Hajiji was also pleased to know there were trainees in the B40 group who have been employed by international oil companies.
“Many students from the B40 group are earning good wages in the industry. Not only did they manage to improve their family’s living standard, they even managed to finance the education of their siblings.
“I was told that they are earning between RM8,000 to RM25,000 per month after just 10 years of work,” he said.
Hajiji congratulated all the graduates for their efforts and patience in wading through the world of learning that finally bears fruit.
