Angola

Graduation at MAPESS train-the-trainer program at CINFOTEC, Luanda

The train the trainers program for the MAPESS project started on 19 April 2010 and had a duration of six (6) weeks. The course had a positive outcome and the instructors gained competence in the fields of Industrial Electricity, Hydraulics and Welding. The closing ceremony was held in the CINFOTEC auditorium.

The picture above shows the students together with their Brazilian instructors, the Project Manager-Ndajoina Shalumbu, Deputy Director of CINFOTEC Mr Gilberto Figueira and Mr Thorstein Wangen from the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Luanda.

Above we see the students showing off their certificates together with Mr. Thorstein Wangen.

Above we see the Brazilian instructors during the closing ceremony. The are fltr Rovilson Lucca, Richard Serra and Raul Correa

MAPESS train-the-trainer program at CINFOTEC, Luanda

The train the trainers program for the MAPESS project started on 19 April 2010 and will have a duration of six (6) weeks. The instructors are being trained are from Cabinda, Soyo and Luanda and the trades are Welding, Industrial Electricity and Hydraulics. The training is being conducted at CINFOTEC, Luanda, due to their modern facilities.

The picture above shows the students together with their Brazilian instructors, the Project Manager-Ndajoina Shalumbu, Deputy Director for Vocational Training at INEFOP- Mr. Adao Tavira and Deputy Director for Administration and Finance at CINFOTEC - Mrs. Ermelinda.

RKK has secured the services of three Brazilian instructors to conduct the training. They are Rovilson Lucca (Electricity), Raul Correa (Welding) and Richard Serra (Hydraulics). There are eight students for Electricity, seven students for welding and six students for hydraulics.

Photo above: RKK´s project manager in Angola, Anita Rapp, with students in the welding workshop.

Safety Course training for six Angolan Instructors

On the 11th of April 2010 RKK Namibia received a group of six Angolan Instructors to be trained as Safety Instructors for the New Safety Center to be established at INP. This project is fully sponsored by Statoil Angola. The Instructors will be trained in three areas namely:

• Fire Fighting
• First Aid
• General Safety

The group of Angolan Trainee Safety Instructors, with Mr Rodrigo Alves (RKK Safety Instructor) left, and Mr. Jorge Alves (RKK Safety Course coordinator) right.

Below and above are students busy with practical exercises in First Aid. The “train the trainer” will cover a period of two months.

International conference - "INP and the Challenges of the Future" in Sumbe Angola

On 26 March 2010 INP - Instituto Nacional de Petroleos – held a conference in Sumbe on "INP and the Challenges of the future", at which the petroleum industry and the Angolan authorities were strongly represented. A number of vice-ministers were present, together with representatives from various international embassies, oil companies and local administration. RKK presented the Norwegian model of education for the petroleum sector.

Photo, above: Representatives from RKK during the conference in Sumbe – Managing Director Ole Imsland, General Manager of RKK Namibia Carl Williams and Project Leader Carl Andriamparany from the Namibia Office.

INP Angola and RKK sign MOU in Luanda on 18 August 2009

Contract between RKK and the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate signed 26. August 2009

RKK has signed a contract with the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) for performing a " Pre-study - development of Technical College Petroleum Technology in Angola." This study, scheduled for completion in March 2010, will detail what is required to start up a tertiary vocational level programme of petroleum studies at INP, Sumbe, Angola.

INP Angola and RKK sign MOU in Luanda on 18. August 2009

On Tuesday 18. August, at a meeting in MINPET, the Ministry of Petroleum in Luanda , Angola, the National Institute for Petrolum - INP - in Sumbe, Angola and RKK signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The MoU, to run for 5 years, was signed by Managing Director Domingos Francisco from INP and Managing Director Ole Imsland from RKK.

The MoU sets out the general lines for extensive collaboration between the parties in connection with a major upgrading now being implemented by INP in its Sumbe training centre. The project involves upgrading of teaching curricula, continuing education for teachers, laboratory facilities and equipment and a range of other activities.

The MoU is based on the Agreement of Cooperation signed in August 2000 and October 2006 between the Norwegian and Angolan governments and between MINPET - the Ministry of Petroleum of the Republic of Angola - and the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) on Technical Assistance to the Angolean Oil Sector.

Kickoff meeting with INEFOP in Luanda, Angola

At the Polyvalente Adult Education Centre in Luanda, august 2009, RKK and INEFOP held a two-day "kickoff seminar" for the joint vocational education programme starting now and due to run for the next 4 years. The aim of this joint project, supported by Norwegian and Angolan authorities, is to bring INEFOP's courses up to international standard. While continuing to work closely with the INEFOP management, the project team will concentrate its efforts initially on three pilot centres, located in Cabinda ,Soyo and at Polyvalente in Luanda. These centres were all represented at the kickoff seminar in addition to representatives from the Norwegian Embassy and MAPESS.

Picture below: Director of INEFOP Corina Jardim and First Secretary Torstein Wangen from the Norwegian Embassy.

Giant contract for RKK in Angola

A contract worth USD 11 million (NOK 66 million) was signed on 25 June 2009 in Angola by MAPESS / Inefop, the Norwegian Embassy and RKK. This is the biggest single contract the foundation has ever landed.

Photo: RKK’s MD, Ole Imsland, signing the contract together with the head of Inefop, Corina Jourdon. In the background to the left we see Vice Minister Sebastiao Luquinda from Mapess and the Norwegian Ambassador to Angola, Jon Vea.

MAPESS – The Angolan Ministry of Administration, Labour and Social Affairs approached RKK in June 2006 with a view to dialogue on future collaboration. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in August 2006, followed by negotiations and high-level meetings between the parties, the venue alternating between Norway and Angola.

The "Oil for Development" programme has contributed financially to project studies and the visit of the MAPESS Vice Minister to Stavanger in August 2006. The Embassy has also followed the process and there have been a number of meetings in Norway and Angola.

These discussions arose out of Angola’s wish to develop a more local content in its industrial activities in general and the oil sector in particular. A substantial obstacle to realizing this objective is a lack of qualified personnel and relevant educational institutions. A principal aim of the project is therefore to help Angola educate its own personnel, who in turn can fill the jobs industry needs.

The project is scheduled to run from today to the end of 2012. The total cost of USD 11 million is shared by Angola and Norway.
The principal deliverables from the project will be:

• The development of a new basic concept for sustainable vocational education centres in Angola based on existing structures for this type of education under INEFOP.
• Comprehensive training of leading instructors in relevant vocational subjects. Relevant INEFOP personnel at central and regional level will be included along with senior staff from selected vocational training centres operating within the existing INEFOP structure.
• Reinforcement and further development of vocational training, focusing on skills, working methods and trade certification in relation to international standards.
• The development of specialized training in subjects relevant to the petroleum and mechanical engineering industries.
• The development of ICT-based distance learning systems at designated pilot centres.
• Train-the trainer programmes for new and established vocational training centres.

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In August 2007 RKK was host to a delegation from MAPESS, the Ministry of Employment and Social Security in Angola. The visit was at the initiative of, and headed by, Vice Minister Sebastiao Constantion Luquinda. The aim of the visit was to study the RKK model for adult education, focusing on petroleum-related disciplines. MAPESS is responsible for general adult education and employment offices in Angola. During this visit, the parties signed an MoU, ”Memorandum of Understanding”.

On the basis of this MoU, a pre-project was launched through the agency of Norad’s Oil for Development programme. In the course of this pre-project, a comprehensive needs and possibilities study was performed to determine the status of vocational education in Angola. This formed the basis for comprehensive agreements which will be finalised in 2009 in collaboration with the Angolan state authorities and the Norwegian Embassy. The main programme, divided into a number of projects, will help to develop 3 pilot centres, draw up teaching curricula, develop and upgrade teacher training and upgrade the training centres. The plan is that the programme will be 1/3 financed by the Angolan authorities and 2/3 by the Norwegian authorities. This will be a programme of considerable scope which will account for much of RKK’s activities over the next 4 years.

The second project in Angola, the ”INP Project” was successfully completed in 2008. INP courses are supplied to the national petroleum institute (INP) and comprise a train-the-trainer programme including English, IT, hydraulics, HES, mechanics, subsea work and general introduction to oil and gas. Each course module has a duration of 3-5 days. These courses are financed by INTSOK and NORAD. The main aim is to train local workers in oil and gas subjects, and 25 participants completed this instructor training in 2008.

RKK has been actively involved in Angola since as early as 2002 and all project work in the country has been based on close cooperation with Stavanger Offshore Technical College. RKK has been requested to look at other competence development projects in Angola, in collaboration with INP, the petroleum industry and the Angolan authorities. Given the sharp focus on petroleum-related education, MINPET, the Ministry of Industry and Petroleum, is also an important discussion partner. Dialogue with MINPET may result in extended collaboration.

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Delegation from MAPESS (Ministry of Employment and Social security i Angola) visiting RKK in August 2007

In August 2007 RKK was host to a delegation from MAPESS (the Angolan Ministry of Public Administration, Social Security and Employment). The delegation was headed by Vice Minister Sebastiao Constantion Luquinda. The purpose of their visit was to look at RKK’s model for adult education, with particular emphasis on petroleum-related subjects. During this visit, the parties signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), on the basis of which a preliminary project financed by NORAD was subsequently initiated, and a delegation from RKK visited Angola 4 – 12 November 2007.

The country faces a long line of challenges: the building of schools, the development of teaching curricula and teacher training to mention only a few. But there is one area where results can be quickly felt, and that is vocational education. Vocational education can give the local population jobs in areas where foreign labour currently dominates. Areas with the most pressing need for local labour are petroleum-related activities, building and construction, and agriculture.

The RKK delegation, comprising managing director Ole Imsland, project manager Geir Mykletun and course organiser Øystein Førsvoll from Stavanger Offshore Technical College (SOTS), had a number of constructive meetings with the Norwegian Embassy in Luanda during the visit, and will now take the work a step further.

Our main host during our stay was MAPESS. In addition to meetings at ministerial level, where we were briefed on the strategic plans for infrastructure development in relation to adult education, we visited a wide range of adult training centres. These included centres in Luanda, both in the city centre and in the suburbs, and centres in Cabinda and Sumbe.

The RKK delegation also organised a workshop in Luanda for about 50 participants from industry, education and politics, the topic being education for, and in cooperation with, industry.

Our meeting with the Ministry of Education gave us a useful overview of the general education system in Angola.

Given the emphasis on petroleum-related education, MINPET, the Ministry of Industry and Petroleum, was also an important discussion partner. Two meetings with MINPET and visits to its training centre in Sumbe will possibly lead to further cooperation beyond our earlier collaboration on Subsea training.

A report on the visit is being drawn up and we hope these contacts will result in concrete projects in the certification of local workers in a number of areas, particularly the petroleum sector.

Information about Angola:

• Angola on Wikipedia
• CIA – World Factbook - Angola
• Angola - Lonely Planet