The Petroleum Training and Education Fund (PETROFUND) has invested over N$115 million to support the development of skilled Namibian professionals for the upstream oil and gas industry.
Speaking at the 2nd Youth in Oil and Gas Summit, PETROFUND Chief Executive Officer Nillian Mulemi said the fund’s flagship scholarship programme has already benefited 438 Namibians.
The programme covers undergraduate, postgraduate, technical, and vocational training in areas such as petroleum engineering, geosciences, subsea engineering, oil and gas law, taxation, environmental management, and cybersecurity.
“To date, PETROFUND has invested over N$115 million to support 438 Namibians across undergraduate, postgraduate, technical and vocational training programmes through our flagship PETROFUND NAMIBIA scholarship programme,” Mulemi said.
In 2025 alone, the Fund aims to sponsor more than 90 students in specialised fields including Deck Cadet training, Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) piloting in Malaysia, and key engineering and commercial disciplines.
Mulemi also announced that PETROFUND is ramping up on-the-job training efforts in line with the National Upstream Local Content Policy. Over 82 young professionals have already been placed with industry leaders such as TechnipFMC, Halliburton, SBM, Shell, TotalEnergies, and Recon Namibia, through partnerships with service providers and operators. Ten Memoranda of Understanding have been signed to accelerate this initiative.
“This is supported by the fact that Namibia has the necessary primary skills for on-the-job training. The skills include but are not limited to geology, engineering, logistics and transport, finance, law, hospitality and environmental management,” she added.
As part of its broader strategy, PETROFUND is developing a national Oil and Gas CV Repository, scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter of 2025. In the meantime, summit participants holding at least a TVET Level 3 qualification or an undergraduate degree were encouraged to submit their CVs for inclusion in the database.
Applications for the 2025 PETROFUND scholarship programme will open on 4 August and close on 10 October 2025. The scholarship scheme complements existing government funding by covering additional costs and offering full support for studies both locally and abroad.
“At the postgraduate level, we will fund students pursuing disciplines within the full value chain of the upstream oil and gas industry – namely exploration, appraisal, field development, production and decommissioning both locally and internationally,” said Mulemi.
