Inadequate training facilities, the absence of accredited programmes and delays in establishing a specialised training centre are limiting Ghana’s ability to develop skilled personnel for the upstream petroleum industry, the Auditor-General has revealed.
The findings, contained in the Auditor-General’s report on the implementation of the Petroleum Commission’s Accelerated Oil and Gas Capacity (AOGC) Programme, indicate that while instructors have received internationally recognised training, many are unable to transfer those skills because their institutions lack the infrastructure and accreditation required to deliver industry-standard programmes.
The report said the Petroleum Commission sponsored 24 beneficiaries to undertake internationally certified train-the-trainer programmes at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Canada and Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NAP) in Singapore.
It noted that five beneficiaries two from Kikam Technical Institute, two from Takoradi Technical University and one from Suame Magazine in Kumasi, left the country after completing their mandatory two-year bond.
The remaining 19 trainers are still serving at their respective institutions but have been unable to fully apply the specialised knowledge acquired abroad.
According to the report, the training prepared them to teach in institutions modelled after NAIT, but their current institutions do not possess the required equipment or internationally accredited facilities.
The audit highlighted the case of a technician instructor at Ho Technical University who completed a nine-month programme in welding, pipefitting and millwright at NAIT in May 2021 and returned to Ghana in 2022.
The instructor obtained a Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB) Level I trainer certification but was unable to utilise the qualification because the university lacked the accredited curriculum and facilities needed to train students in professional welding for the upstream oil and gas industry.
The report further noted that the instructor’s certification expired in 2024.
The Auditor-General said the case demonstrated how investments in international training could fail to deliver the expected impact without corresponding improvements in local institutional capacity.
The audit also found that two instructors at the Regional Maritime University in Nungua, who were trained in pipefitting, had no pipefitting facility available to train students upon their return.
Similar challenges were identified at four other beneficiary institutions, where instructors trained in pipefitting and welding were unable to provide internationally recognised certification because their institutions lacked accredited training facilities.
Officials of the affected institutions told auditors that obtaining international accreditation was expensive and that uncertainty over student enrolment made it difficult to justify the investment.
The report also cited delays in establishing the proposed Welding and Pipefitting Centre of Excellence at Takoradi Technical University, which is intended to replicate the NAIT training model in Ghana.
Although the university allocated a 2.1-acre parcel of land to the Petroleum Commission in 2021 and feasibility studies have been completed, construction had not commenced by the time of the audit in August 2025 due to the absence of the estimated US$13.9 million required for the project.
The Commission told auditors that the facility would serve as a national training hub where instructors could fully deploy the knowledge acquired overseas once funding was secured.
The Auditor-General further observed that equipment donated by Maersk Drilling in 2024, including 17 inverter welding machines with accessories and an overhead crane for the proposed centre, remained in storage in their original packaging because construction had not begun.
The Petroleum Commission assured auditors that the equipment was being properly preserved pending the commencement of the project.
The report recommended that the Commission facilitate accreditation of training facilities at institutions offering upstream oil and gas programmes while accelerating efforts to secure funding for the Centre of Excellence through stronger stakeholder engagement and diversified financing sources.
In its response, the Petroleum Commission said it remained committed to the objectives of the AOGC Programme and was pursuing sustainable funding partnerships with industry operators and development partners.
It added that it would intensify stakeholder engagement and explore additional funding mechanisms to strengthen the implementation of its training mandate and future capacity-building initiatives.
