Baku, December 5 - Neftegaz.RU. A meeting dedicated to the 5th anniversary of the Staff Nationalization Program in the oil and gas industry of Azerbaijan took place today. Rovnag Abdullayev, President of SOCAR, said: By the end of the year, foreign oil and gas companies staff in Azerbaijan will be 90% nationalized.
The Staff Nationalization program was established in 2013, following instructions given by President Ilham Aliyev. The objective of the program was to enhance the knowledge and skills base and level of professionalism of the national employees in the oil and gas sector.
In the last 5 years, SOCAR has undertaken a large-scale activity aimed at nationalizing the oil and gas industry staff with a focus on the training of specialists involved in oil and gas operations in Azerbaijan. The Baku High Oil School, as well as 5 training centers that meet international standards, have been established to educate highly skilled specialists and a professional workforce.
Addressing the meeting, Rovnag Abdullayev said: Today we are reporting to the President of Azerbaijan, the author of the staff nationalization program, who has been following its progress during the last 5 years, that joint efforts by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, the State Migration Service and SOCAR, have successfully achieved its goal. The oil and gas companies operating in Azerbaijan have shown great commitment to the program. BP Azerbaijan and its contractors and subcontractors, who had 77% nationalized staff in 2013, have raised this number to 90% in 2018.
Gary Jones, BP’s Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, said: We are proud to have achieved this target in cooperation with the Government, SOCAR and other co-venturers. This is part of our long-term strategy and commitment to enhancing nationalization of staff and development of workforce involved in our operations in Azerbaijan.
