Ekpo Tours PTDF Skills Development Centre in Port Harcourt

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, has undertaken a comprehensive facility tour of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) Centre for Skills Development and Training (CSDT) in Port Harcourt. 

The Executive Secretary of the PTDF, Mr. Ahmed Aminu,  led the minister and his delegation on the tour, highlighting the centre’s role in developing a highly skilled workforce for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, a statement by the organisation said.

During the visit, the minister inspected various training workshops, laboratories, and technology-driven learning facilities at the CSDT, which is designed to equip Nigerians with industry-relevant competencies in welding, pipefitting, mechanical maintenance, instrumentation, and other critical technical skills.

In his remarks, the minister commended PTDF for its strategic investment in human capital development, emphasising the significance of the centre in enhancing local content participation in the oil and gas sector. 

He reiterated the federal government’s commitment to empowering  the youth and ensuring the availability of a competent workforce to support the country’s energy transition agenda.

The executive secretary of the PTDF expressed appreciation for the minister’s visit and reaffirmed the fund’s dedication to sustaining industry-driven capacity-building initiatives. 

He noted that the CSDT was positioned to bridge the skills gap in Nigeria’s petroleum industry, fostering economic growth and self-reliance, stressing that the facility tour underscored the PTDF’s ongoing efforts to align its training programmes with the evolving needs of the oil and gas industry.

He reiterated the fund’s commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s technical expertise to support the nation’s aspiration of becoming a global hub.