The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has launched its LearnFest Lecture Series, a platform for continuous learning among staff and oil and gas industry stakeholders. This initiative is part of the Board's efforts to enhance the capacity of its staff to effectively lead and regulate the oil and gas industry. The LearnFest Lecture Series is an initiative under the Nigerian Content Academy (NCA), a specialised knowledge-sharing and training arm of the agency.
The LearnFest Lecture Series aims to provide trainings on the mandate and inner workings of the Board. The three-hour event, which was attended by all staff at the corporate headquarters in Yenagoa, focused on raising awareness of the different directorates of the organisation, their constituent divisions and departments, as well as their specific responsibilities and how they function individually and collectively to advance corporate goals and objectives.
According to the Academy, NCDMB's knowledge is spread across seven directorates, each with its own mandate, processes, expertise, responsibilities, and way of creating value. The Academy added that knowledge becomes more powerful when it does not exist in silos but moves from one department to the other with handshakes of different units. LearnFest is intended to help staff understand "how everything fits together," the big picture, with respect to the mandate of the Board as well as institutional processes, practices, culture, and relationships.
In opening remarks at the event, the Director, Capacity Building Directorate, Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, stated that the LearnFest Lecture Series was informed by the need to create an understanding of Nigerian Content tools and processes among staff and other oil and gas industry stakeholders. Industry players, he explained, need to understand and interpret the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010, operational principles as enshrined in the NCDMB Guideline for Nigerian Content Human Capital Development Implementation Strategy.
Engr. Bamidele further stated that the NCA is building a faculty, and that the Lecture Series is a way of preparing the grounds for its take-off. According to him, "The people presenting [the lectures] could form part of our faculty," and those attending the event are expected to give feedback on the suitability of such resource persons for the said roles. He also said that the Management of the Board has approved the use of the Board's purpose-built facility in Opolo, along the Opolo-Elebele Road.
The LearnFest Lecture Series has generated interest from 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). These organisations have been writing to the Academy to express interest in sending their staff for the specialised training provided there. Engr. Bamidele disclosed that LearnFest "will make our work easier."
The NCDMB's initiative is a significant step towards enhancing the capacity of its staff and industry stakeholders. The LearnFest Lecture Series is expected to promote collaboration, understanding, and effective implementation of the Board's mandate. Key to this initiative is the development of a faculty and the use of a purpose-built facility in Opolo.
Key points
- NCDMB launches LearnFest Lecture Series to enhance staff capacity and promote knowledge-sharing.
- The initiative aims to provide trainings on the mandate and inner workings of the Board.
- LearnFest has generated interest from industry operators, service companies, and academic institutions.
