Tullow allocates US$2.7m to scholarships
Jubilee Field operator, Tullow Ghana Limited, has set aside US$2.7 million to be used to develop the capacities of human resource on an annual basis for the oil and gas sector.
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The money is used to fund qualified students to undertake further studies in disciplines within the sector.
The initiative is part of the Tullow Group Scholarship Scheme; introduced five years ago by the group to help upgrade the skills of people operating in the sector and other related sectors.
In Ghana, which is home to two of the group’s key projects – the Jubilee and the Tweneboah-Enyera-Ntomme (TEN) Project – 174 people have so far benefited from the initiative that is managed by the British Council and Tullow Ghana under the Tullow Ghana Scholarship Scheme (TGSS).
At a send-off dinner for 41 beneficiaries in Accra, the General Manager of Tullow Ghana, Mr Charles Darku, said Ghana continued to be the highest beneficiary of the scheme due to the great importance the group attached to its operations.
He said for the 2015/16 beneficiaries, beneficiaries from Ghana made up 55 per cent, leaving the other countries with 45 per cent.
Applicants
The 41 beneficiaries were chosen from a total of 5,517 people who applied for the scholarship this year.
Out of the total number of applicants, 500 were from the Western Region, which has been given preferential treatment under the TGSS.
Of the total scholarships awarded each year, 10 slots have been dedicated to the region in recognition of the role it played as host of the country’s commercial oil and gas find.
Pre-tertiary
Beyond the post-graduate scholarship, the company, this year, widened the support to pre-tertiary technical and vocational training, where it disbursed some bursaries to qualified students to attend the Jubilee Technical Training Centre at Takoradi in the Western Region.
Tullow Ghana’s GM said the initiative was aimed at supporting the development of pre-tertiary technical skills, “which are among the immediate needs of the oil and gas industry in Ghana.”
He called on the beneficiaries to make good use of the investment by excelling in their studies and returning to the country to support in nation building.
The event was graced by officials from the Petroleum and Education ministries, other commercial oil exploration and production companies, families and loved ones of the beneficiaries.
Last year, 50 people were sponsored under the same TGSS to undertake further studies in France, Britain and Ireland.