Petronas is investing about RM50 million to set up a new industrial training centre in Kimanis to meet the growing manpower demand in the oil and gas industry in the State.
The Kimanis Petroleum Training Centre (KTC) is currently under construction and is scheduled to be ready by 2013.
Once completed, the new KTC, accredited by the Department of Skills Development under the Ministry of Human Resources will replace Petronas' temporary training premises recently established here.
"This facility will help more Sabah youths find employment in the oil and gas industry and benefit from the industry's value chain," said General Manager of Petronas Sabah and Labuan regional Office, Joseph Podtung.
"With oil and gas identified as a key driver of Sabah's economic growth, we hope the KTC will help equip our youths with special skills that match the demands of the job market," he said.
The KTC offers both full-time and part-time programmes under the framework of the Malaysian Skills Certificate (SKM) Levels 2 and 3.
These include courses like the two-year full time Industrial Instrumentation & Controls programme, and the part-time Welding Inspector and Offshore Safety training programmes.
He said on Monday, the first batch of 25 trainees had registered to commence their two-year Industrial Instrumentation & Controls programme at the KTC's temporary premises in Membakut.
Their module includes a six-month industrial training at the workplace of selected industry players.
In the coming years, the KTC is not only anticipated to contribute towards developing the capability of Sabahans and other Malaysians, but also will also support the Government's efforts to reduce the number of foreign workforce in the local industries.
He said the training centre also augmented Petronas existing training efforts in collaboration with five institutions in Sabah, namely the Insitut Kemahiran Mara, Institut Latihan Perindustrian and Kolej Yayasan Sabah in Kota Kinabalu, GiatMARA in Kimanis, and Institut Latihan Teknikal and Perdagangan in Papar.
