Shell has been a pioneer in providing training and development for Nigerian workers operating in the oil and gas industry, Mutiu Sumonu, managing director of the firm's petroleum development company in the country.

Through the regional learning hubs situated in Warri and Port Harcourt, the company has been to produce a stream of high-calibre technical and engineering graduates.

Mr Sumonu claimed that through a combination of intensive training programmes, practical and challenging assignments and overseas postings, the company has continuously upgraded the quality of the country's workforce.

"[This] has not only enabled Shell to meet its manpower requirements with quality graduates, but has also proved beneficial to other exploration and production companies," he wrote in the Nigerian Tribune.

As such, he claimed that the company could be rightly proud of the progress made in its Shell Intensive Training Programme (SITP).

The focus of the SITP is to expedite the "Nigerianisation" of energy industry workforce in the country, utilising training and development to produce world-class skill sets.

Oil and Gas Directory: Training and Development