Prime Minister James Marape commended Papua LNG developer TotalEnergies for its commitment to work with the Government in training Papua New Guineans for construction of the project.
PM Marape said he did not want a repetition of the PNG LNG Project, where large numbers of workers were brought in from overseas, because the country lacked skilled manpower at that time.
“The Government has been in discussions with TotalEnergies to prepare a skilled national workforce for Papua LNG Project construction,” PM Marape said.
“Total has given its full support and is working with us. The State is ready to work with our technical colleges to run block courses on what is needed, screen candidates who apply, and prepare them to be part of the team that will build this project.
“This is one of the many benefits that the Papua LNG Project will bring to us.
“The last thing we want is massive numbers of overseas workers like welders, carpenters, electricians and others when these can be done by Papua New Guineans.
“We’re looking forward to improving training facilities in all our technical schools, with first priority to be given to training young people from Gulf – where the project is located – and then all other parts of our country.”
The Papua LNG project will create employment opportunities for Papua New Guineans.
