KOTA KINABALU: A fully Bumiputera-owned company, Teras Muhim Sdn Bhd, has secured a collaborative agreement with a leading oil and gas training provider in Brunei.
Teras Muhim yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with QOS Sdn Bhd for a collaborative programme to develop young locals into full-fledged inspectors with internationally recognized qualifications in oil and gas.
Under the agreement, QOS will help Teras Muhim train selected candidates from Sabah in the field of Mechanical and Structural Integrity Inspection & Testing.
QOS will also provide technical and financial support to Teras Muhim, as they work together to explore the opportunities in providing inspection services to oil and gas operators in Sabah, such as Petronas and Shell.
Managing director, Adsman Jupri, signed the deal for Teras Muhim. He said they would be sending the first group of three trainees to QOS soon to undergo a five to six months training programme.
“They will start training as soon as we have concluded everything (for the agreement). This is just for a start, and we will continue sending trainees and it is a continuous development programme,” he said when met after the signing.
For the first phase of the training collaboration, Adsman said they would be sending students aged 30 years and below with at least a diploma qualification, preferably in technical or vocational fields.
In his welcoming remarks earlier, he said the main objective of the collaboration was to produce skilled workers among the Bumiputera to fill the jobs available in the oil and gas sector, especially in Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) inspection.
“We will also share QOS expertise in equipment and site inspection using IRATA Rope Access, which is in high demand in the industry,” he said.
Teras Muhim is a young company set up in 2011 specializing in providing services in engineering and construction sector. Apart from oil and gas industry, it also offers NDT inspection for marine industries, power plant and other sectors requiring the service.
Currently the company is also in the process of applying a licence from Petronas to allow it to take more jobs and contracts awarded by the national oil company.
Managing director Rudy Borhan signed the deal for QOS.
He also delivered an introductory briefing for his company at the signing.
QOS Project Manager Julkeply Othman, who delivered a speech at the signing ceremony, said they were looking to expand beyond Brunei and have identified Sabah as the most promising area due to its proximity and more importantly, the many exciting opportunities coming up in the State as it focuses on developing the oil and gas industry.
He said there are tremendous opportunities in Sabah, in particular in helping local workers and companies develop their capacity to better participate in the industry.
“Sabah has been producing oil and gas for more than 30 years but most of its existing services requirements have been provided by companies from outside Sabah.
“There are not many local Sabahan companies that can provide such services. We are looking forward to working closely with Teras Muhim to fill that gap,” he said.
A Bumiputera Bruneian-owned company, QOS has a proven track record in developing young locals into certified and highly skilled inspectors and has made a recognisable name in the business since starting its operation five years ago, with current workforce of over 200 trained employees.
Meanwhile, Sedcovest Holding chairman Datuk Awang Sham Amit who witnessed the signing, said the state highly welcomed the collaboration, which was timely in view of the increasing demand for skilled workers in oil and gas sector.
He also noted that SEDCO, an agency under the Industrial Development Ministry, has adopted a commitment of developing five highly competitive oil and gas entrepreneurs from among the locals within five years, and the signing yesterday was part of this effort.
The signing was also witnessed by Permanent Secretary of Industrial Development Ministry Datuk Hashim Paijan and SEDCO Supplies and Services Managing Director Mohd Ghazali Ibrahim.