Determination and hard work pay off for Halia

Gabriel Halia from Pawale village in Samberigi, Southern Highlands is an oil field mechanic at the Oil Search Agogo processing facility.
He is tasked to maintain and look after the equipment at the processing facility.
Halia began as a roustabout with Chevron Niugini in 2001 after completing grade 10.
“I started off cutting grass and removing rubbish within the Gobe processing facility,” he said.
“At the same time I was also removing sand from the production separators using a shovel.”
His hard work and commitment landed him in the maintenance department as a general trade assistant.
“There, I was responsible for cleaning tools, keeping equipment in order and topping up fuel on generators,” he said.
In 2006, he decided to take advantage of the learning opportunities provided by Oil Search after the company took over operatorship from Chevron in 2003.
“I upgraded my grade 10 marks in 2006 and was able to go on to complete my grades 11 and 12 through the Oil Search-sponsored Department of Open and Distance Learning (DODL) programme, affiliated with the PNG University of Technology.
“In 2008, I was moved to the mechanical workshop in Kutubu where I became a trade assistant mechanic and it was there that my level of interest grew in that particular trade,” he said.
Halia’s job involved reading manuals, identifying the correct tools and their uses, reading scales on precision measuring tools, undergoing basic in-house training, attending mandatory courses and working with the tradesmen on various tasks.
A year later, he was presented his grade 12 certificate by the Oil Search Training department and that opened up a new window of opportunity for him. “All my hard work and dedication from when I first started as a roustabout and a trade assistant finally paid off when my immediate supervisors made a recommendation for me to join the apprenticeship programme in 2012.
Following block courses at the Tabubil Star Mountains Training Institute and the Port Moresby Technical College from 2013 to 2016, Gabriel made it.
“Finally, in June 2016, I went for my third extension block course at POMTech. I gave my best and I passed. I was now a tradesman.
“I was offered the position of oil field mechanic based at the Agogo Processing Facility that same year.”