Dangote Group president Aliko Dangote has announced his intention to open a training school in Lamu County to train 1,000 local staff to work in the upcoming East Africa Oil Refinery. Speaking on Wednesday, September 30, during the refinery’s groundbreaking ceremony, Dangote said that the program would train workers in technical skills that would be required in the project as it progresses, providing jobs to locals.

“I want to assure you we are coming here to set up a training school that will train 1,000 of your people,” Dangote told Lamu County Governor Issa Timamy.

He added that anyone with a degree, diploma, or any other relevant qualification would be recruited and given a work opportunity at the refinery or anywhere else in the group.

“Anybody who has an engineering degree, diploma program or whatever, tell him that he has a job. His job is guaranteed,” Dangote said.

The refinery construction requires an extensive workforce, and Dangote believes that the project will create more than 60,000 jobs during its peak period of construction and development. However, one must understand that the number represents the workforce needed for the project and the surrounding industries. It does not mean that the refinery will have 60,000 employees. Dangote said the facility will have a processing capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day and that it will take approximately 40 months to complete the project, which started on 30 September 2020. The refinery is expected to operate at full capacity by 2030.

In addition to the above, Dangote said that various local businesses would be able to provide goods and services to the project, creating more jobs.

“We want local businesses to become suppliers. We want entrepreneurs to grow around this project,” Dangote said.

He added that they were developing the training program to create a talent pool of skilled workers to ensure Kenyan engineers, technicians. Other professionals staff the refinery and related industries.

According to Dangote, the project scope and magnitude necessitate a significant number of engineers and other technical personnel. As such, he is optimistic that the training school will contribute towards building this talent pool. The refinery project is expected to create a conglomeration of industries, including energy, petrochemicals, logistics, engineering, marine, and manufacturing. As a result, the training school will provide a steady stream of qualified and skilled workers needed for the refinery and the other industries that will result from the project.