Driven by renewed big-ticket investments and new projects in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has unveiled a special Human Capital Development (HCD) Programme aimed at training over 10,000 young Nigerians in top high-demand technical and professional skills.
The initiative, known as the NCDMB Oil and Gas Field Readiness Training Programme, is designed to equip a new generation of graduates and technicians with the practical competencies required for emerging opportunities across the sector.
Announcing the programme on Friday, NCDMB Executive Secretary, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, said the training would close key skills gaps identified through expatriate quota reviews and stakeholder engagements with bodies such as the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS), and Petroleum Contractors Trade Section (PCTS).
Ogbe explained that the programme aligns with Section 10(1b) of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010, which mandates that Nigerians be given first consideration for training and employment in the oil and gas industry.
According to Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, NCDMB’s General Manager, Corporate Communications, the top 10 high-demand skills covered under the initiative include:
Sub-sea Engineering (wellheads, flowlines, umbilicals, sub-sea trees, etc.)
Underwater Welding
Control and Automation Engineering
Helicopter Piloting
Marine Operations (Seamen, Vessel Mechanics, Electricians)
Production and Maintenance Engineering
QA/QC Engineering (including NDT Levels 1–3)
Geoscience and Wellsite Geology
Digitization and Emerging Technologies (AI, ML, IoT, Big Data, Cloud Computing, Drones)
The programme is open to Nigerians under 35 years with OND, HND, or BSc qualifications in fields such as Petroleum, Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, Chemical, and Gas Engineering, as well as Geology, Geophysics, Computer Science, Welding, and related disciplines.
Interested candidates are to register through the NCDMB portal — nogicjqs.gov.ng — by updating their profiles and selecting up to three preferred skill areas.
Providing further details, NCDMB’s Director of Capacity Building, Engr. Bamidele Abayomi, said the skills gap closure project will span two to three years and will be implemented in four phases: classroom training, laboratory/workshop practicals, certifications, and hands-on work experience. Each participant will undergo a minimum of six months of on-the-job training (OJT) with partner service companies.
Abayomi added that at least three service companies will partner with the Board for each skill area, while HSE and soft-skill modules will be delivered by OGTAN-accredited training providers. Successful trainees will be included in NCDMB’s skills database for potential engagement by industry operators.
Participants will also receive monthly stipends, pre-mobilization medicals, PPEs, and insurance coverage to support their training experience.
The programme launch follows the recent wave of Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, including Shell Nigeria’s US$2 billion HI Field Gas Project, TotalEnergies’ US$550 million UBETA Gas Project, and the US$5 billion Bonga North Deepwater Project.
These developments, NCDMB noted, are direct outcomes of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s three Presidential Directives of March 2024, which, coupled with revised Nigerian Content Contracting Guidelines, have fast-tracked long-delayed investments and are helping advance the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda toward a US$1 trillion economy.
