Nigeria has scaled the first major hurdle towards securing international recognition as a welding nation capable of producing certified welders for the oil and gas industry. This followed the successful completion of a three (3) months intensive training programme by twenty (20) Nigerian welders at the South Africa institute of welding, under the welders training and certification programme of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF).

The Nigerian Content Directives of the Federal Government mandates PTDF to train up to 2,500 Nigerian welders in various welding Skills up to certification level recognized by the International Institute of Welding which is the global standards and regulatory agency for welding. It is only through such international certification that Nigerian welders are accepted to practice in the oil and gas industry. 

To fast track the process, PTDF embarked on the Train-The-Trainers scheme by up skilling a core group of Nigerian welders with the requisite practical capabilities and global certification to enable them provide the required training of Nigerian welders under the PTDF welders training and certification programme. 

At the graduation ceremony, held in the South African Institute of Welding, Johannesburg, fourteen (14) of the Nigerian welders who participated in the programme received the International Institute of Welding diploma as International Welding Practitioners. This authorizes them to train other welders in Nigeria in different welding processes. Six (6) others received the International Welding Certificate in plate welding and fillet welding and were thus certified to train welders in any of the two areas of proficiency. Their citation read            “Having met the Education and Training requirements of International Institute of Welding guideline on (International Welder) and by examination having satisfied the requirements of the Examination Board of the International Institute of Welding Authorized National Body, the (recipient) is hereby awarded the diploma of (International Welding Practitioner, International Plate Welder, International Fillet Welder) as the case may be. 

Executive Secretary, Petroleum Technology Development Fund, Engr. Muttaqha Rabe Darma, said at the passing out ceremony, that the twenty (20) Nigerian Welders, who will form the core of the Fund’s Train-the-Trainers component of the Welders Training and Certification programme, were painstakingly selected through a strategic technical partnership with the Nigerian Institute of Welding. 

According to him “we have designed a programme that will in the next two to three years lead to the training of 10,000 Nigerians to become internationally certified welders. One way of achieving this is to facilitate the recognition of the Nigeria Institute of welding(NIW) by the International institute of welding(IIW). So we are trying to bring all the necessary elements that will make NIW a recognized National body that can certify Nigerians as welders”. This he said will help solve the crisis of confidence among oil companies operating in Nigeria who believe that Nigerian Welders having not received international certification by the International Institute of Welding, lack the relevant skills and proficiency to operate in the oil and gas industry and are therefore unemployable. “What we are doing is to provide the Nigerian Welder with the relevant skills and proficiencies in modern welding techniques that will equip them to function effectively in the oil and gas industry by coping with the complex welding demands of pipeline, and deep sea welding and fabrication.” 

The PTDF Executive Secretary said the Fund is also training another batch of twelve Nigerian Welders at the Defense Industry Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) out of which the best 10 will be sponsored by the Fund to undergo specialized training in Germany that will qualify them as International Welding Technologists and International Welding Engineers. “All these are part of the requirements of IIW for the Nigeria institute of welding to become a recognized National body for Nigeria to become a welding Nation. There is also the need for us to have training bodies for IIW to inspect and certify as having met the standard that is required. We have chosen two places, DICON in Kaduna, and PTI in Warri.These places are being upgraded to make them standard training bodies for welding and fabrication”. 

The Executive Secretary of PTDF, who was represented by the General Manager, Finance and Accounts, Mr. Jolomi Arenyeka said these efforts will also crystallize in Nigeria becoming a centre for quality human resources in the oil and gas sector. He pledged PTDF commitment to extend the sponsorship of the ten (10) best graduating trainees for the remaining part of their training in South Africa that will qualify them as International Welding Specialists with International Certification. 

The President, South Africa Institute of Welding, Professor Koursaris said Nigeria has taken the first major step in becoming an International Welding nation. The Initiative of training Nigerian welders in South Africa he said will enhance regional co-operation with potentials for self-sustainability. The graduates of the programme who will be returning to Nigeria to train local welders for international certification will be instrumental in upgrading skills that will empower the local population to take advantage of work opportunity  especially in the oil and gas and power generation industries. 

The Nigerian Institute of welding appreciates the certification of the Nigerian welders as International Welding Practitioners as a positive step towards conferring the status of an Authorized National Body on the institute as well as improve welding education in Nigeria. President, Nigeria Institute of welding, Mr. Solomon Edebiri said “you have been trained to train other Nigerians and through your efforts under the supervision of the Nigeria Institute of Welding and co-operation from PTDF, it is hoped that Nigeria will produce over 400 competent welding instructors and 5000 certified welders by December 2010”. 

For sometime, there has been persistent condemnation of the oil companies for their propensity in engaging foreign Nationals especially Filipinos in the oil and gas industry while refusing to engage Nigerian welders for the reason of not being certified by the international Institute of Welding. The process of acquiring such certification is long and tedious. First there must be an Authorized National Body that must have received International Certification. In the case of Nigeria, the Nigeria Institute of Welding is yet to acquire the full status of an Authorized National Body.

To achieve this, there must also be in place an authorized training body. In this case, the welding and fabrication workshops of PTI and DICON are being upgraded by PTDF to satisfy the requirements for certification as an Authorized Training Body. An additional requirement is that there must exist qualified training instructors using IIW accredited training curriculum and following an IIW procedure for welding instruction. With the training and certification of 14 Nigerian welders as International Welding Practitioners and six others in Plate and Fillet welding, Nigeria has commenced the march towards curtailing, if not eradicating the influx of foreign welders and other welding professionals in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

Kalu Otisi Esq.

Head, Press and External Relations

25/11/09