As the oil and gas industry develops, a number of Guyanese will be heading on board the Edison Chouest Offshore vessel which is providing support to ExxonMobil’s operation offshore Guyana.

Over the last two days, the Guyanese men who will be working as ordinary seaman and riggers onshore the vessel, were being prepared for their new jobs aboard.

Safety Technician, John Boquet said safety onboard remains paramount for the men who will be working on the company’s vessel and therefore was a major part of their training.

“There is no job that is more important than the safety of the personnel onboard that vessel. There is nothing that trumps safety. If a job cannot be done safely, then we don’t do it period. So that training for rigging, cargo can be very dangerous so we wanted to make sure that we establish what those rules are, what those guidelines are and how to do it safely.”

The Local responsible for the recruitment and training of the persons is El Dorado Offshore. The company’s Country Manager, Kerri Gravesande said 14 persons were trained but half will be heading to the offshore site beginning with two people on Thursday. She explained that the aim is to find skills that will be beneficial to the industry and fit into government’s drive to have local content.

Public Infrastructure Minister, David Minister said while he believes training is important, it goes beyond that in the long run when companies use locals for their operations.

El Dorado Offshore was established in April of this year.