by Michael Dibie | Abuja
Africa’s next wave of oil, gas and energy infrastructure investment could generate billions of dollars in projects, but whether the continent captures their long-term economic value may depend on something less visible than rigs, pipelines and processing plants: the quality of its workforce.
The question will take centre stage at African Energy Week (AEW) 2026, where policymakers, industry executives and training specialists are expected to examine how African countries can prepare local professionals for increasingly sophisticated energy projects.
The conference and exhibition, scheduled for October 12–16 in Cape Town, will feature Nillian Mulemi, Chief Executive Officer of Namibia’s Petrofund; Felix Omatsola Ogbe, Executive Secretary of Nigeria’s Content Development and Monitoring Board; and Loïc du Rusquec, Executive Board Member and Board Director at IFP Training.
Their participation reflects a growing shift in Africa’s energy debate. While access to capital, technology and international partnerships remains critical, governments are under increasing pressure to ensure that new investments create skilled jobs, build national institutions and expand opportunities for indigenous companies.
For resource-rich countries, the challenge is no longer simply to attract an international oil company or approve a major project. It is to develop the engineers, geoscientists, technicians, project managers and service companies capable of participating meaningfully across the project lifecycle.
“Africa’s energy future will not be determined solely by the projects we develop, but by the people we equip to lead them,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.
Although the workforce question is particularly urgent in Namibia, where a series of offshore discoveries has raised expectations that the country could emerge as a major African petroleum producer.
Petrofund, established in 1993, has spent more than three decades supporting human-capital development through scholarships, institutional assistance and partnerships designed to strengthen education in engineering, science and petroleum-related disciplines.
The organisation’s mandate is becoming increasingly strategic as Namibia moves closer to the potential development of its offshore discoveries.
Mulemi is expected to use AEW 2026 to outline how Petrofund is preparing young Namibians to participate in that emerging value chain.
The objective is not merely to place citizens in entry-level jobs. Namibia is seeking to build a national talent pipeline capable of supporting project development, operating assets and eventually taking leadership positions within the industry.
That approach could determine whether the country’s discoveries produce a broad-based industrial transformation or remain largely dependent on imported expertise and services.
Nigeria on the other hand, offers a different perspective. As one of Africa’s oldest oil-producing country, its challenge is not establishing a petroleum workforce from scratch, but expanding indigenous capacity as the industry enters another investment phase.
The country is seeking to raise oil output toward two million barrels per day, supported by new upstream investments, field-development projects and attempts to improve the operating environment.
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board has become central to that strategy. Its mandate includes promoting the use of Nigerian personnel, companies, materials and services across the oil and gas industry.
Under the Executive Secretary of Nigeria’s Content Development and Monitoring Board, Felix Omatsola Ogbe, the agency has continued to broaden its human-capital programmes, linking technical education and professional certification more directly to live industry projects.
In June 2026, the NCDMB and Nigeria LNG announced the completion of a 12-month training programme for 70 young Nigerians attached to the multibillion-dollar Train 7 project. Participants received training in areas including data analytics, procurement, project management, planning, risk management and project execution. The board said the programme was intended to provide skills relevant to the oil and gas industry and related economic sectors.
The agency has also pursued a Cradle-to-Career academic programme, industry training certification and partnerships with operators and service companies, including TotalEnergies and Geoplex.
These initiatives form part of a broader attempt to ensure that the revival of investment in Nigeria produces domestic industrial capabilities rather than another cycle in which the majority of specialist services, technology and project expertise are sourced from abroad.
For Nigeria, local content is increasingly being treated not simply as an employment policy but as an industrialisation tool. The aim is to build companies that can compete for complex contracts, develop proprietary expertise and eventually export services to other African energy markets.
Ogbe’s appearance at AEW is therefore expected to bring attention to the relationship between investment, local participation and long-term value retention.
AEW 2026 is expected to focus on how countries can connect local-content regulation with structured workforce planning.
