Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Sector Moves to Close Skills Gap with New HCD Pact

Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is moving to strengthen the skills of its workforce as regulators, operators, training providers, academia and industry trainers commit to a new framework for human capital development.

The commitment was formalised through a Human Capacity Development (HCD) manifesto signed by the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN) and key industry stakeholders at the closing plenary of the OGTAN HCD Conference 2026 in Warri, Delta State, on Friday.

The agreement is designed to produce measurable and time-bound actions that can improve the competence and productivity of workers while preparing the industry for technological and structural changes.

Chris Osarunmwense, president of OGTAN, said the decision to issue a manifesto instead of a conventional conference communiqué was intentional.

“Rather than turning this conference into another regular talk shop, one of these jamborees where we just tick the boxes, we decided to make this different,” he said.

He explained that the document provides a practical roadmap for ensuring that companies have people equipped with the knowledge, skills and right attitude required to meet their business and operational needs.

The manifesto emerged from the keynote presentations and panel sessions held during the conference and reflects what Osarunmwense described as a collective pledge by participating stakeholders.

Its eight areas of action cover regulatory compliance, workforce planning, technical competence, emerging energy skills, training standards, funding, indigenous training capacity and opportunities for young professionals and host communities.

The first pillar focuses on regulatory compliance and Nigerian participation. The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) will support Nigerian content development and indigenous participation, while operators and OGTAN will strengthen human capital development and training standards.

Workforce needs form the second pillar. Regulators, operators and training providers will work towards clearer identification of the competencies required across the industry and align training programmes with those requirements.

The third pillar targets critical technical skills. Stakeholders will identify priority competencies, preserve institutional knowledge and introduce measures for assessing workers’ competence.

The industry’s changing energy landscape is addressed in the fourth pillar. The framework includes skills development in renewables, gas-to-power, methane management, artificial intelligence and energy economics, alongside support for Nigeria’s expanding compressed natural gas (CNG) infrastructure.

Training providers themselves are covered under the fifth pillar, which focuses on trainer standards, certification and the Accredited Training Service Provider (ATSP) framework. It includes training-of-trainers programmes, grading and third-party audits.

The sixth pillar deals with financing. The federal government has committed to better utilisation of Human Capacity Development funding, while stakeholders will seek stronger investment from government, industry, academia and technology partners.

The seventh pillar is directed at building the strength of Nigeria’s indigenous training sector. It aims to enable local training providers to improve their capabilities and meet international standards.

Young professionals, host communities and inclusion complete the framework under the eighth pillar. Proposed measures include apprenticeships, graduate development programmes, mentorship and broader participation in human capacity development initiatives.

The initiative comes as the oil and gas industry faces rapid changes linked to digitisation, artificial intelligence, automation, cybersecurity, gas development and the energy transition.

OGTAN said the goal is for human capacity development to produce outcomes that can be seen in workplace competence, performance and productivity, rather than being treated simply as compliance or participation in training programmes.

For Nigeria, the framework places local expertise at the centre of the industry’s future. By connecting training to emerging technologies, gas opportunities, indigenous participation and workforce development, the initiative seeks to strengthen the people and institutions that will drive the next phase of the country’s oil and gas sector.