Career Boost! Pick a Core Discipline and Digital Tool – UNOC's Samantha Muhwezi

By Evans Najuna

Kampala – The Chief Operations Manager of Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) has advised the young generation in Uganda to choose a core discipline, Health, Safety, and Environment, and then add a digital tool; the combination will make them highly employable.

Samantha made the remarks while representing UNOC as the keynote speaker at the 7th National Career Guidance Day, held on Friday, 20th March, at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Kampala. She highlighted UNOC’s role in building national expertise and long-term value across the oil and gas sector, adding that as an institution, their mandate is to manage Uganda’s commercial interests in petroleum.

She noted that one of their greatest responsibilities is preparing Ugandans, especially the youth, to participate in and ultimately lead this transformation sector.

“I hereby advise you, the youth: Choose a core discipline, HSE, and add a digital tool. That combination makes you highly employable,” Samantha said.

According to Samantha, UNOC supports structured career entry through graduate training and internship programs, providing exposure to project delivery, commercial negotiations, refinery and pipeline planning, ESG compliance, and operations management.

She explained that these initiatives ensure that, beyond technical trades, Uganda is developing talent pipelines for managers, engineers, geoscientists, economists, and future sector leaders.

“As a shareholder on behalf of the government in the ongoing development and pipeline projects, UNOC collaborates with JV partners to maximize national participation,” she added.

Samantha reminded the youth that TotalEnergies’ (Tilenga) Talent Pipelines – Tilenga Academy is training 200 youth in operations, production, mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation over a 2.5-year pathway. The first cohort completed international OPITO-aligned certification in France, Malaysia, and Oman.

Over USD 200,000 in software and hardware donations has been given to universities. USD 12M has been invested in supplier skilling, and approximately USD 36M has been spent procuring from host community suppliers.

CNOOC (Kingfisher) Vocational Strengthening has a strong emphasis on coded welding, upstream operations, and HSE, with CNOOC supporting 781 trainees at UPIK in 2025.

Regarding welding certification pathways (3G/6G), Samantha informed the youth that, with support jointly from UNOC, CNOOC, and industry partners, there is a transition to hydropower-powered rigs, reducing emissions and exposing trainees to modern operational standards.

In EACOP, midstream Vocational and Livelihood Empowerment, EACOP Academy has trained 141 trainees (25% women) in operations, instrumentation, mechanical, and electrical disciplines. Over 527 households have been trained in enterprise development with starter kits across five districts.

She highlighted the types of training and who they target: technical and vocational pathways delivered through UPIK, UT colleges, and accredited TVET centers, including HSE (INSP, ECITB), rigging and scaffolding, coded welding (3G/6G), NDT/QC inspection, lifting operations, and electrical and instrumentation production operations.

Additionally, the Ministry of Education and Sports has listed over 145 public TVET institutions aligned with these pathways, targeting youth aged 18-28, aligned with Academy recruitment models.

University and Professional Pathways have strengthened petroleum geoscience and engineering through advanced digital platforms donated to universities. International placements across TotalEnergies and CNOOC affiliates have provided exposure to operations in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the U.S. UNOC’s graduate training continues to build commercial, regulatory, and operational talent.

Samantha tipped them on the skills most in demand today, including HSE and Process Safety (IHSP/ECITB/OPITO), welding and fabrication (3G/6G), NDT, QA/QC, electrical and instrumentation (EACOP heat-tracing, commissioning), mechanical maintenance and rotating equipment, lifting operations and heavy machinery, and digital petroleum workflows (Petrel, Techlog, Eclipse, Petromod).

The opportunities on the horizon include Tilenga entering production readiness, with new roles for OPITO-certified Ugandans. EACOP commissioning will expand operational, maintenance, and control-room opportunities. Supplier growth through IEC and regional partnerships will allow SMEs to scale into long-term operations. UNOC’s growth into midstream and downstream (refining, storage, trading) will create additional technical, commercial, and operations careers.

The 7th National Career Guidance Day was attended by several government agencies, private institutions, universities, and schools. Under the theme “The Future of Work: Surviving in the AI Era,” the event was officiated by Hon. Dr. Joyce Moriku Kaducu, the State Minister for Primary Education, on behalf of the First Lady, Janet Kataha Museveni, the State Minister for Education and Sports. The Chief Guest was Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja, on behalf of President Museveni.