The Kigumba district in Uganda will benefit from a new oil training institute that will empower the local workforce, the government's petroleum exploration and production department has announced.

Speaking to Education Guide, the principal geologist for the department Fred Kabanda, said the new institute will specialise in providing accessible entry-level skills development courses to ensure local workers can enter the oil and gas industry.

"To benefit from oil products, it needs people who have got skills; that is why we have decided to set up a school as the country develops," he told the journal.

The institute will provide training at diploma, certificate and bachelor levels, Mr Kabanda added.

Elsewhere, The New Vision reports that Tullow Oil, a major stakeholder in Ugandan oil fields, is cooperating with the national sports and education ministry to improve access to primary education in the Buliisa district, which has been identified as one of the worst-performing schools districts in the country.

Oil and Gas Directory: Training and Development