(R) (Dr.) Haji Mohamad Yasmin bin Haji Umar - Energy Department ...

1. It has been almost 10 months since we organized the very first Job Fair
here at BRIDEX, in December 2011. The objectives of the first Job Fair and the one
that we are organizing now are the same, that is to expose as much as possible the
job opportunities available out there in our local oil and gas industry. On this, we
are indebted to His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Negara Brunei
Darussalam, who through his advices and guidance encourages us to be more
proactive in terms of job creations for the citizens and permanent residents of
Brunei Darussalam. The first Job Fair marked the beginning of a major push of
such efforts by the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of
Negara Brunei Darussalam through the Energy Department towards ensuring
more locals are employed by the industry. We wanted then to show and prove
that the industry has the ability to provide jobs for the locals, and our locals if
given the right chance can rise up to the challenge of filling up these jobs.
2. We also wanted to show that creating 50,000 jobs in the oil and gas
industry, out of which 40,000 jobs are for local professionals and employees by
2035 as envisaged in the draft Energy White Paper is not only a possibility but
also achievable. I am first to acknowledge that the task is not easy – there are so
many gates that must be unlocked including attitudes of both the potential
employers and the employees, managing and upgrading capabilities and
capacities and so on. Most of these also involve sensitive issues, yet if we were to
please everyone we would not get very far. Reality is, we need to create more jobs
for our locals, and do it fast. We cannot have an environment where our locals
feel that they are being by-passed for jobs, even in the non-skills and semi-skills.
We cannot have contracts signed in the oil and gas industry – some involving
tens and even hundred of millions, with little return to the nation in term of local
contents such as jobs and training opportunities.
2