Jobs for locals ‘crucial’

LABOUR and Employment Minister Kessy Sawang says big projects on the pipeline must give more jobs to Papua New Guineans.
“Jobs meant for Papua New Guineans must go to Papua New Guineans,” she said at a meeting with developer of the K35 billion Papua Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project, TotalEnergies EP (exploration and production) PNG Ltd managing director Jean-Marc Noiray last week.
Sawang wants to see a workforce nationalisation plan that prioritises nationals.
The Rai Coast MP said she looked forward to seeing the details of local employment creation once TotalEnergies finalised the plan with the Ministry and Department of Petroleum and Energy.
Her meeting with TotalEnergies is part of her engagement plan with different stakeholders for dialogue and cooperation to improve labour market outcomes and deliver on the targets set in the Medium-Term Development Plan Four.
“For the petroleum and gas industry the MTDP 4 projects the creation of at least 15,000 new jobs,” he said.
“I appreciate that the bulk of employment opportunities with oil and gas projects are within the construction phase and that the skills required are lower than the production phase.
“But I would like the extractive industry to recognise that skills uplift our people and allow employability in future resource projects and in other sectors of the economy.
“There must be a pathway for mobilisation of these skills to subsequent projects after the construction phase or exported offshore.
“I am determined to advance women’s economic integration and I inquired on the concrete actions being taken to realise the full potential of women in resource projects as well as in the project impacted communities.
“I was pleased with the efforts within TotalEnergies to achieve an inclusive and diverse workforce.
“We have an obligation to address one of our greatest development challenge of improving the status of girls and women.
“Whilst the resource projects are important for economic growth, the challenges they bring must be carefully managed.
“We must apply prudently the once-only State proceeds from the non-renewable resource projects to productive use as outlined in our development plans to set PNG on a higher inclusive sustainable growth path.
“I will support the immediate establishment of the PNG Sovereign Wealth Fund to manage the adverse impacts of large resource projects and the volatile prices and income from the mineral and petroleum sector.”