Before the increase in oil industry jobs, student Mohammed Nathim was planning to train as an engineer. But after seeing many graduates unable to find jobs, he has decided he wants to attend an oil industry academy.
“Going to an oil academy gets you extra privileges,” Nathim adds. “The students with the highest grades can get a scholarship to their university because the Ministry pays their fees.”
“I prefer to go to oil college, graduate in two years and then be paid to study,” Nathim’s friend, Abbas Shaheen, notes. “After that I could work for the Ministry of Oil – rather than spending four years at university and then joining the long list of unemployed.”
There is also a website and forum founded by young Iraqis that focuses on questions about oil industry education and oil industry jobs. On the site, young Iraqis considering further education in the oil industry can ask questions and have them answered.
“Iraq has many skilled people but what we’re missing is skilled people in the oil industry,” Iraqi oil expert, Hamza al-Jawhari, told NIQASH. “We can overcome this by more training, both inside and outside of Iraq.”
It was also important to remember that Iraq’s increasing oil production doesn’t just require oil industry specialists. Although the oil industry employs relatively few people, in comparison to the revenue it provides the country, “we will also require people with administrative and legal backgrounds as well as graduates in chemistry, physics and mechanics,” al-Jawhari noted.
Comments are closed.