Lawmakers in Ghana have laid down proposals to achieve a local workforce participation of 90 per cent for the oil and gas industry by 2020, with extensive training set to play a key part.

Ghana Web reports that foreign operators such as Tullow, Kosmos Energy and Saipem have already trained hundreds of workers ahead of the country's achievement of first oil later this year.

In a statement last month, the World Bank's country director Ishac Diwan said the organisation is "embarking on an ambitious programme to train Ghanaians in the universities and financial institutions for taxation and management".

As new fields are brought on stream and revenues and capital inflows increase, the scale of oil and gas training programmes is set to extend further, allowing the country to achieve its 90 per cent target.

In a separate article, the country's eastern regional minister Samuel Ofosu Ampofo reiterated the importance of a strong legal framework to ensure all Ghanaians benefit from the discovery of oil.

Oil and Gas Directory: Training and Development