By Peace Udugba -The Daily Torch Media
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has launched the LearnFest Lecture Series, an in-house knowledge-sharing platform designed to strengthen staff capacity and improve understanding of Nigerian Content regulations among oil and gas industry stakeholders.
The initiative was inaugurated on Thursday at the NCDMB corporate headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, as part of efforts to enhance the capacity of personnel to effectively lead and regulate Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
LearnFest is an initiative of the Nigerian Content Academy (NCA), the specialised knowledge-sharing and training arm of the Board.
The three-hour inaugural session, attended by staff at the corporate headquarters, focused on creating awareness of the various directorates of the organisation, their divisions and departments, as well as their respective responsibilities and how they work together to achieve the Board’s corporate objectives.
According to the Academy, NCDMB’s institutional knowledge is spread across seven directorates, each with its own mandate, processes, expertise and responsibilities.
The Academy said LearnFest was created to ensure that knowledge does not remain within individual departments but moves across units to promote collaboration and a better understanding of the Board’s overall mandate.
It explained that the programme would help staff understand “how everything fits together”, including the Board’s institutional processes, practices, culture and relationships.
“When we understand what others do, we collaborate better, support one another better, and work as one integrated ecosystem,” the Academy stated.
LearnFest to deepen understanding of Nigerian Content regulations
In his opening remarks, the Director, Capacity Building Directorate, Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, said the lecture series was introduced to improve understanding of Nigerian Content tools and processes among NCDMB staff and oil and gas industry stakeholders.
He said industry players needed to understand and properly interpret the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010, as well as the operational principles contained in the NCDMB Guideline for Nigerian Content Human Capital Development Implementation Strategy.
Other areas highlighted include the Nigerian Content Compliance Certificate (NCCC), Nigerian Content Plan (NCP), statutory reporting and expatriate quota.
Bamidele said the knowledge gained through LearnFest would ultimately make the work of the Board and industry stakeholders easier.
He disclosed that industry operators and service companies, industry associations such as the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), academic institutions and ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) had expressed interest in sending their personnel for specialised training at the Nigerian Content Academy.
The NCDMB director also disclosed that the Academy was building a faculty, adding that the LearnFest Lecture Series would help prepare the ground for the formal commencement of the faculty.
According to him, some of the experts delivering lectures could eventually become members of the Academy’s faculty, while feedback from participants would help determine their suitability.
NCDMB approves facility for Academy training
Bamidele further disclosed that NCDMB management had approved the use of the Board’s purpose-built facility at Opolo, along the Opolo-Elebele Road in Yenagoa, as a training centre for the Nigerian Content Academy.
The facility is expected to host specialised training programmes organised by the Academy.
Planning and Policy Directorate leads first lecture
The first presentation under the LearnFest Lecture Series was delivered by the Manager, Planning and Policy Development Department, Engr. Mofe Megbele.
His presentation was titled “Understanding the Activities and Processes of the Planning, Research and Statistics Directorate.”
The presentation covered areas including the operating framework for Planning, Research and Statistics (PRS), the Planning and Policy Development Department (PPD), expatriate quota, inter-directorate and division relations, research and development programmes, technology commercialisation and innovation.
Other areas included research and development infrastructure, NOGIC JQS and user communication, Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF) objectives, e-Marketplace and stakeholder engagement.
Megbele explained that the directorate consists of two major divisions: the Planning and Policy Development Division and the Research and Statistics Development Division, both headed by General Managers.
He said the Planning and Policy Development Department was established in September 2018 under Section 70 of the NOGICD Act and is responsible for developing policies and guidelines for internal and external stakeholders, as well as monitoring their implementation.
LearnFest to hold monthly for nine months
The NCDMB said the LearnFest Lecture Series would hold monthly over the next nine months, with a different directorate featured at each edition.
Attendance, either physically or online, is mandatory for all NCDMB staff, while other oil and gas industry stakeholders will be able to participate in subsequent editions.
