Africas oil and gas industry has the potential to create jobs on a large scale, according to multiple speakers at UNCTADs 17th Africa Oil, Gas and Mines Conference (OILGASMINE) and Exhibition
As well as creating jobs within the oil and gas industry, the conference heard that, based on the example of the US, hydrocarbons expansion leads to more jobs becoming available to African workers in other sectors, such as health services and retail trade. Technical advances, infrastructure development, improved access to finance and developing workforce skills are all crucial to expanding job opportunities and increasing employment.
In the background notes given to conference delegates, it was noted that most of the direct jobs created by the African oil and gas industry are in the development and construction phases, while the exploration phase requires employees with strong technical knowledge to fill positions in relation to geological and geophysical surveys and data evaluation.
Frode A. Bernsten, partner at Norway's Simonsen Vogt Wiig Advocacy Firm, spoke on sustainable job creation in the extractive industries, and Irene Muloni, Uganda's Minister of Energy and Minerals, gave a presentation on the opportunities and challenges faced by the extractive industries.
The conference was organised by UNCTAD and the Sudanese government and it focused on meeting the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 8, which is action "to achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all men and women, including young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value by 2030."
