An education programme to develop local capacity and talent in the oil sector

Uganda’s oil and gas industry is still in its infant stage. It will require advanced knowledge and state-of-the-art skills to rise to future challenges in the industry. Through the Total Professeurs Associés (TPA) programme, a not-for-profit association established in July 2001, TotalEnergies is actively helping to meet these challenges by increasing access to applied knowledge in Uganda’s nascent oil industry.

Building national content through education

Over the years, TotalEnergies’ activities have become more international and increasingly complex, calling for the need to attract the best personnel from all over the world. As an entity in the business community in the countries where it operates, TotalEnergies ensures that it supports education and access to it.

TotalEnergies’ education commitment is based on three main areas:

• Contributing to education
• Anticipating future human resources needs by prioritising the use of local talent
• Building networks of partners working in the education sector

Addressing the evolving information needs

Started in Uganda in 2012, TotalEnergies EP Uganda has so far supported 12 different oil and gas related courses at Kyambogo University, Makerere University Business School and Makerere University under the TotalEnergies Professeurs Associés (TPA) programme. The courses offered have covered the following oil and gas themes, among others:

1. Oil and gas law
2. Oil and gas investment decision making
3. Introduction to oil and gas exploration to development
4. Oil and gas economics
5. Drilling engineering

The topics are chosen annually by the respective university colleges based on the students’ needs for that particular academic year. The courses are then forwarded to TotalEnergies which identifies and confirms a TPA professor. For the programme, course materials are prepared and provided to the students.

TotalEnergies EP Uganda facilitates the entire programme in Uganda and no costs are incurred by the university or the students interested in undertaking these courses.

Increased access to applied knowledge

Together, member professors of TPA who are working, or retired TotalEnergies Group employees who lecture in their field of expertise, cover all the technical and non-technical areas that a large international group can encompass.

Over 600 students have benefited from the programme in the Colleges of Engineering and Natural Sciences since it was introduced in Uganda. The courses have also attracted staff from TotalEnergies EP Uganda as part of their career development.

The courses run for 4 hours a day for a maximum of 5 days a week. Upon completion of the course, students are assessed through an exam after which a certificate is awarded to them.