PAN AFRICAN INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT – WEST AFRICA

P.O. BOX 133, BUEA, CAMEROON

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS STUDIES

A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Business Studies, in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of a Master of Science

(M.Sc) degree in Strategic Human Resource Management

By

MBAH BRENDA AGBORGOH

PAIDWA00082

Supervisor Prof. UWEM ESSIA Mme MANKA EILEEN TABUWE

BUEA, DECEMBER 2015

BRIDGING SKILL GAP IN THE OIL AND GAS

SECTORS OF CAMEROON THE CASE OF COTCO

AND ADDAX PETROLEUM

The author assumes total responsibility for meeting the requirements set by Copyright Laws for

the inclusion of any materials that are not the author’s creation or in the public domain.

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DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to God Almighty for his blessing, knowledge and

wisdom he provided for the realization of this work.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATION ...................................................................................................................... i

DECLARATION ..................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

DEDICATION .......................................................................................................................... iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................... iv

LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................... vii

LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................ viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................... ix

ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................... x

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1

1.1 Background of the Study ..................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Background of the case study company (COTCO) ............................................................. 7

1.2.1 Background of the study area (Addax Petroleum) ............................................................ 8

1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ................................................................................... 9

1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ....................................................................................... 10

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................. 10

1.6 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS ............................................................................................. 11

1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY................................................................................... 11

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY ................................................................................ 12

1.9 DEFINITIONOF TERMS ................................................................................................. 13

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ........... 1

2.1 Conceptualisation of Skill Gap Analysis ............................................................................. 1

2.1.2Skills and Productivity ....................................................................................................... 4

2.1.3 Impact of Skills on Productivity ....................................................................................... 6

2.2 Conceptualisation of Training and Development ................................................................ 9

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2.2.1 Strategic Training and Development .............................................................................. 13

2.3 Theoretical Framework ...................................................................................................... 19

2.3.1 Expectancy theory ........................................................................................................... 20

2.3.2Equity Theory. ................................................................................................................. 21

2.3.3 Goal-Setting Theory........................................................................................................ 22

2.4 Empirical Framework ........................................................................................................ 23

2.4.1 Skill Gaps Analysis ......................................................................................................... 23

CHAPTER THREE : DESCRIPTION OF CASE STUDY AND METHODOLOGY ........... 24

3.1 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 25

3.1.1 Study Design ................................................................................................................... 25

3.2 Model Specification ........................................................................................................... 26

3.3Analytical Approach ........................................................................................................... 26

3.4 Validation and reliability of analysis ................................................................................. 27

CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA ................................................................... 27

4.1 Descriptive Statistics .......................................................................................................... 28

4.1.1 Demographic description of respondents ........................................................................ 28

Intensity of skill shortage ......................................................................................................... 32

Strategies used to conduct training and development and its impact on the skills shortage. .. 34

Factors affecting training and development in COTCO and Addax........................................ 41

4.2 Hypothesis testing .............................................................................................................. 44

4.3 Implication of the results ................................................................................................... 46

4.4 Limitation of the study ....................................................................................................... 47

CHAPTER FIVE DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ............... 47

5.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 47

5.1 Summary of Findings ....................................................................................................... 48

5.3 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 50

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5.4 Recommendation .............................................................................................................. 50

5.5 Suggestion for Further Research ...................................................................................... 52

REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................ 53

Appendices ............................................................................................................................... 59

Appendix 1: questionnaire used for the study.......................................................................... 59

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LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 4.1: TRAINING EXPERIENCE ................................................................................ 32

TABLE 4.2: SKILL IMPROVEMENT DUE TO TRAINING ............................................... 40

TABLE 4.3: CROSS TABULATION ON THE QUALITY OF TRAINER’S CONTENTS

AND RELEVANCE TO THE WORK FOR ADDAX PETROLEUM .................... 44

TABLE 4.4: CROSS TABULATION ON THE QUALITY OF TRAINER’S CONTENTS

AND RELEVANCE TO THE WORK FOR COTCO ............................................. 45

TABLE 4.5: THE CHI-SQUARE TEST RESULTS ............................................................... 45

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LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE 4.1: AGE OF THE RESPONDENTS ................................................................................... 28

FIGURE 4.2: MARITAL STATUS OF RESPONDENTS ................................................................... 29

FIGURE 4.3: LEVEL OF EDUCATION ............................................................................................. 30

FIGURE 4.4: DEPARTMENTAL DISTRIBUTION OF STAFF ........................................................ 30

FIGURE 4.5: RANK OF EMPLOYEES IN BOTH COMPANIES. .................................................... 31

FIGURE 4.6: YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. .......................................................................................... 32

FIGURE 4.7: SELECTION OPTION FOR TRAINEES. ..................................................................... 33

FIGURE 4.8: FREQUENCY OF TRAINING ...................................................................................... 34

FIGURE 4.9: EFFECTIVENESS OF LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION .......................................... 35

FIGURE 4.10: EFFECTIVENESS OF FACILITATION METHODS ................................................ 36

FIGURE 4.11: QUALITY OF TRAINING .......................................................................................... 37

FIGURE 4.12: TRAINER’S CONTENT OF TRAINING ................................................................... 38

FIGURE 4.13: TRAINER’S SELECTION OF TRAINEES’ ............................................................... 39

FIGURE 4.14: RELEVANCE OF TRAINING TO THE WORK. ....................................................... 40

FIGURE 4.15: INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY .................................................................................... 42

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This medium provides me the opportunity to express my immense gratitude tomy

parents MbahGodlove, MbahOphilia and my aunt who is like a mom to me

Barrister Ayuk Lucy, for all that they offered me during the period of this

research.

Secondly I will like to appreciate my supervisors Madam Manka Eileen Tabuwe

for all her support and time she took to guide me throughout my research and also

DrNdeFruMusango who is of blessed memory for the short time he spend

correcting my work, not forgetting MrKum the coordinator for Human Resource

for also guiding me through my research and most especially DrAbbosey who

gave me series of advices on the way forward and acted as a source of inspiration

to my work.

I will also want to thank the management of COTCO and Addax Petroleum

especially Madam Layu Marguerite, Madam Patience Mapoko and

MrWackMballa of COTCO and MrEbai Dickson of Addax Petroleum for giving

me the opportunity to gain experience in the field of Human Resources and also

for opening their doors for me to be able to carry out my research.

I will equally want to thank my sisters and brothers MbahAnchi, Mba Nancy,

MbahHonorine, Ayuk Anne, Njong Napoleon and Array Samuel for their

ceaseless prayers not forgetting my uncle Mbah Eric and aunts Mbah Charlotte

and MbahPascaline for their continuous encouragement.

My immense gratitude goes to management of Pan Afrique Institute for

Development for providing a serene and conducive academic environment.

Finally, I will gladly appreciate all my friends who have been supportive to me

in one way or another especially WabitShuletMah, Njweipi Edna, Ako Caroline,

Epebe Mercy, NdohTezeh, and Achiri Desmond.

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ABSTRACT

In the changing phase of the market, all organizations have some opportunities to

grab and challenges to meet. The oil and gas sector in Cameroon, in particular,

presents huge opportunities due to the high demand for oil and gas products. In

the same vein, there are challenges such as the demand and supply equilibrium,

lack of adequate skilled labour and, of course, skilled gap deficiencies in the

labour force that needs to be overcome to meet with organizational goals.The

main aim of this research was to investigate the extent to which training and

development in COTCO and Addax Petroleum addresses skill shortage in the

organization, the study also has its specific objectives.A sample size of 50 with

25 questionnaires for each of the two companies is used to collect data. The study

is an exploratory research in which an experience survey was carried out in other

to obtain insight on how training and development can bridge the skill gap that

exist in the oil and gas sector. The study made use of descriptive statistics such

as frequency and percentages and chi-square to test hypothesis set for the study.

It was imperative to find out the strategies used by COTCO and Addax Petroleum

to address skill shortage in their organization. From the findings, the two

hypothesis set for the study was tested and to confirm or reject this hypothesis

respondents were asked to rate the relevance of training received in line with the

quality of the trainer’s content. Thus, it is relevant training will fill skill gaps and

improve productivity level. However, it was therefore recommended thatboth

companies should focus on areas they are doing well and continue to improve on

areas lack especially when it comes to training.

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CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Skills gaps are constraining companies’ ability to grow, innovate, deliver

products and services on time, meet quality standards and meet environmental

and social requirements in companies (Mallikarjun et al. 2004). Closing skill gaps

directly impact improved productivity, employment and enterprise creation,

whether in the formal or informal sector. A skill is a proficiency or facility that is

acquired or developed through education, training or experience to ensure that an

individual meets his/her objectives. However, the concern for skill development

emerged as part of the general revolution in the human relations approach to

management (McGraw-Hill, 2013). This approach emerged in what is popularly

called organizational behaviour and were rooted in the behavioural sciences- the

science of human relations which was developed in the late 1940s. It is based

primarily on psychology (which attempts to determine why individuals behave

the way they do) and sociology (which attempts to determine how group

dynamics affects organizational performance); social psychology, economics,

and political science have also contributed to organizational behaviour.

During the 1950s, research in human behaviour was conducted in large

organizations. By the late 1970s, organizational behaviour was recognized as a

discipline in its right, with teachers, researchers, and practitioners been trained in

the organizational behaviour itself. Organizational behaviour is a social science

that has built its knowledge base on a sound foundation of scientific theory and

research. Human relations take a practical, applied approach. It attempts to

anticipate and prevent problems before they occur and to solve existing problems

of interpersonal relations in organizations (Mc Grow-Hill, 2013). This writer

went further by bringing out the works of Frederick Taylor and Robert Owen

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where they cited that, during the Industrial Revolution people left the farms to

work in factories that were all privately owned. The corporation form of business

did not become prominent until much later. These early family-run businesses

was concerned with profits, not employees, and managers viewed people only as

a source of production that is human capital. They did not realize how workers’

needs affected production. Since the labour supply was plentiful and the cost of

labour low, they could easily replace employees who had complaints. In this

situation, most of the early owner-managers gave little thought to the working

conditions, health, or safety of their employees. Working conditions were very

poor—people worked from dawn until dusk under intolerable conditions of

disease, filth, danger, and scarcity of resources. They had to work this way just

to survive; there was no welfare system. On the other hand, Robert Owen believed

that profit will be increased if employees worked shorter hours, was paid

adequately, and was provided with sufficient food and housing. Due to this,

following the recognition of the human factor in organizations, many began

reflecting on how to make effective use of human capital in the organization. The

result is recognition of the value of staff development or training and

development. In fact, the roots of formal training and development can be tracked

down to the twenty-first century and evolved since the earliest stages of human

civilization and has been gradually refined into the sophisticated process that it is

today (Chinese, 2010).

Different types of training have been brought up and had different periods that

they started. An example of one of those training is the Vestibule training that is

also well referred to as on-the-job training. This training emerged during the

period of industrial revolution whereby employees who were working in

factories, did not have all the required knowledge and skills to be able to work

with the machinery that produced the goods and materials needed by the society.

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Thus, it became an activity that was carried out within the factory (Patty G,

2010).

Within this perspective, for any company especially those in the oil and gas

industry like COTCO and Addax Petroleum Cameroon, to succeed in its mission

of extracting and transporting oil and gas, training and development should be an

integral part of their business. Nevertheless, the potential staff development to

reduce the company’s reliance on external man power relies on the efficiency of

skill gaps identification. Training involves the application of formal processes to

impart knowledge and help people to acquire the skills necessary for them to

perform their jobs satisfactorily (Armstrong, 2009). To achieve organizational

goals, employers within COTCO and Addax Petroleum must ensure that their

employees have the necessary knowledge, skills and experience required to

undertake their duties competently.

According to Clark, (2012) this can be ensured by embracing the concept of

a skills gap analysis. It allows employers to highlight the areas where employee

skills may be lacking and thus informs the two parties on any gaps that need to

be rectified. In recent years, workplace efficiency has become a priority for

employers worldwide due to the global recession and the cost efficiencies

measures that have been implemented, that is, workplace efficiency could mean

combining two jobs into one, even if a current employee lacks a certain skill, or

expanding the job role of one individual to prevent a future hire. Due to this,

completing a skills gap analysis allows organisations to stay on top of

employee development, channel their resources effectively and adapt to future

skills demands (Asset Skills Barometer, 2011). Employers can use a range of

different approaches following their skills gap analysis to facilitate

appropriate employee development and training plans for example, relevant on

the job training or continuing professional development, to membership of

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professional bodies and attainment of career related qualifications (Asset Skills

Barometer, 2011).

As the workplace evolves, employees are being charged with learning new skills,

developing old skills, and learning to be proficient in all areas across the board.

Skills gaps are self-defined by employers and the process in that employers used

to effectively and efficiently identify skill gaps is to do skills testing which will

allow the employer to see where their employees stand about specific skill sets.

Thus, when an employer perceives that an employee lacks certain skills

preventing them from being fully proficient in their job role, training is delivered

to bridge that gap. Thus, skill gap analysis is an aspect of training which is of

growing importance to companies seeking to gain an advantage among

competitors. In this light, there is a significant debate among professionals and

scholars as to the affect that training has on both employee and organizational

goals and also training leads to an increase in turnover and high employee

retention. (Colarelli&Montei, 1996, Becker 1993).

Staff development is very vital in any company or organization that aims at

progressing. This aspect of skill gaps can have significant implications for

companies if they are unable to reach their potential productivity and profitability.

Within the oil and gas sector, there are some skills that are required and very

necessary to improve productivity and profitability, For example in COTCO, for

an operator, skills like good communication, fluency in spoken English and

French, good computer knowledge and, of course, ability to perform preventive

and corrective maintenance on piping and pumps especially for technicians, will

definitely help the company to reach their potential productivity and proficiency.

According to Duggan, (2013), employers should be able to identify the critical

and non-critical skills required to achieve a higher standard of work by comparing

the list of required skills with the actual skills possessed by the individual

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employee (QFinance,2009). From an individual perspective, the results of

performance appraisals can be used to develop training plans or justify pay

reviews. For a department, a skills gap analysis can be used to identify which staff

members have knowledge, in a particular area as well as that individuals lack

certain skills facilitating the mentoring process within teams. This can also

support recruitment practices as employers can select candidates with skills

required by a particular department (QFinance,2009).

Staff development on the other hand generally puts emphasis on broader skill

which are applicable in a wide range of situations. This includes decision making,

thinking creatively and managing people. According to Antonucci and d’Ovidio,

(2012), a skills gap analysis is traditionally undertaken using paper-based

assessments and supporting interviews; however, technological advancements,

such as skill management, are allowing large companies like COTCO and Addax

Petroleum to administer a skills gap analysis without using a significant

proportion of human resources.

In the changing phase of the market, all organizations have some opportunities to

grab and challenges to meet. The oil and gas sector in Cameroon, in particular,

presents huge opportunities due to the high demand for oil and gas products. In

the same vein, there are challenges such as the demand and supply equilibrium,

lack of adequate skilled labour and, of course, skilled gap deficiencies in the

labour force that needs to be overcome in order to meet with organizational goals.

In such an environment, only dynamic organizations such as COTCO and Addax

Petroleum may survive the steep competition. In the face of these challenges,

there is great pressure on the shoulders of management to make necessary

changes at the workplace in other to meet the expectation of the job.

Thus to meet up with company’s objectives, managers are changing their policies,

rules and regulations in favour of more work enhancement/facilitation policies

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such as higher payer, flexible work schedule, skilled gap deficiencies and lack

of well-trained employees. One of the areas managers are having a lot of pressure

is in the area of competent or talented work force. Consequently, they are

constantly looking for ways of improving production methods, by adopting new

advanced technology and adopt policies that will enable employees to be more

productive at their job (Dugan et al.2003)

The success of any organization depends upon the quality of its work force, but

in order to maintain the quality of the work force that will with stand competition,

many organizations come across some obstacles. These obstacles include

attraction of the qualitative workforce towards the organization, recruitment of

intelligent, dynamic as well as enthusiastic people in the organization, motivation

of current employees with different techniques and retention of the current

workforce for maintaining the organizational status in the competitive market.

For surviving the business and becoming a successful pillar in the market, training

is a tool that can help in gaining competitive advantages. Training proves to be a

parameter for enhancing the ability of the workforce for achieving the

organizational objectives (Dugan et al. 2003). In this perspective, Organizations

nowadays exist in turbulent and competitive environments and are faced by more

challenges than ever before. These challenges are not unique to any specific

organization or industry, but affect all organizations, regardless of their structure

and size. To stay in this competitive environment organizations like those in the

oil and gas sectors need to complete skill gap analyses which allow them to stay

ontop of employee development, channel their resources effectively and adopt

future skills demands. To survive and outplay their competitors, these

organizations need collective brain power to succeed. Hence, the competition for

highly skilled and experienced staff is rife in the sector. While many

organizations in the industry are constantly in search of workers with such skills,

others prefer internal development of these skills, through staff development.

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Therefore growth and change that are inherent in organizations, create a plethora

of training needs, which must be resolved for organizations to cope with their

dynamic nature of growth and change. This can be done through a continuous

process whereby, organizations can effectively respond to change by providing

individuals with the opportunities to improve their existing skills as well as learn

new skills. Collectively these new skills can improve profitability and proficiency

that will lead to the accomplishment of organizational goals. (Dugan et al. 2003).

1.2 Background of the case study company (COTCO)

COTCO is Cameroon Oil Transportation Company, which took active service in

2003, but the pipeline started existing since 1998. The pipeline system transports

marketable crude oil produced from oil fields in Chad and passes through

Cameroon, to FSO, this pipeline externs over 1081km. The Flouting Station

Terminal (FSO) is found off the shores of Kribi. There are three pump stations

along the pipeline, the first is in Kome, the second is in Dompta which is in the

North of Cameroon and the third is in Belabo. The FSO is a big boat that has

tanks inside which stores the crude oil. This crude oil is transported from the FSO

to other boats using hose pipes. This project was executed in four phases; the first

phase started before 1997 where experts came to view the sites, the second phase

was in 1997-1999 which the design phase was, the third phase was in 2000-2003,

which was construction phase and the last phase was the implementation phase.

Since the construction of this pipeline, 1926 employees have worked for COTCO

whether directly or indirectly, currently 97 percent of these employees are

Cameroonians meaning foreign experts are gradually going away. COTCO has

about 229 workers with their job description. COTCO has been able to achieve a

lot some examples are listed below;

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In July 2003, COTCO was given the certificate of confirmation by the

Ministry of Mines to go ahead with the transportation of oil through the

pipeline.

In 2004, COTCO inaugurated the pipeline from Chad through Cameroon

in Kribi.

In 2006, the LomPangar Dam modification was done.

November 2014 COTCO completed the crude oil topping plant (COTP)

modification project at PS3 and PS2.

1.2.1 Background of the study area (Addax Petroleum)

Addax Petroleum is an international oil and gas exploration and production

company with a strategic focus on Africa, Middle East and the North Sea. The

company has grown by acquiring under-developed properties in established

basins and has increased its production by utilising advanced and proven

technologies. The name Addax was derived from a large bodied antelope with

white sandy coloration and long thin spiral horns that slant back and upward. It

is particularly known for its ability to survive in harsh environments and is

considered the most well-adapted antelope to the desert environment. Thus the

addax antelope is a perfect symbol to embody the spirit of Addax Petroleum’s

founders and the ongoing culture and philosophy of the company. Addax

Petroleum was founded in 1994 upon leading Petroleum industry expertise and

deep-rooted understanding and respect for African cultures. Over the years Addax

Petroleum has evolved from a young pioneer into an established international oil

and gas exploration and production company. Their strategy is to build on the

significant growth and profit enhancement opportunities within their existing

licence areas while also pursuing new venture opportunities. Addax Petroleum is

a subsidiary of the Sinopec group, one of the largest oil and gas producers in

China, the biggest oil refiner in Asia and the third largest in the worldwide. Addax

is led by a strong executive leadership team with a rich mix of both oil and gas

9

industry expertise and cultural diversity. It successfully combines entrepreneurial

and management skills with extensive financial, legal and technical knowledge

while fostering diversity as a driving force of the company’s development and

growth.

1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Increasingly, the business of exploration and transportation of oil and gas is

gaining grounds in Cameroon and these oil and gas companies find themselves

in a high competitive market. To face this rising competition, Cameroon oil

companies need to equip effectively their human resources with the skills

necessary for 21st-century competition. But often quit,for the oil and gas industry

specifically, there is two major business challenges: (i) reduction in production

caused by supply shortages of workers; and (ii) a reduction in productivity due to

an ageing workforce, which has led to the inefficiency of the workers and thus

less productivity. Current statistics shows that two-thirds of the employees

working with the oil and gas sector are 40 and above, and they will soon go on

retirement.Overall, the skills shortage has resulted in the use of contract labour

on a regular basis in almost all occupations, including senior positions.

A primary cause of the skills shortage is demographic: large numbers of

experienced workers are retiring, and fewer young skilled workers are entering

the industry (Tennant et al. 2012). The absence of specialized training schools in

oil and gas in the country may account for the lack of young skilled workers. This

shifts the responsibility of skill management directly onto the companies. Unless

the industry begins to address these challenges today, it may face a skill crisis

within the next decade. The oil and gas industry is undergoing radical changes

because global demand for crude oil is escalating. The prices for crude oil and

natural gas has remained high and investment in the oil and gas industry has

surged. Consequently, the industry is increasingly facing a shortage of qualified

10

workers. It needs to take a proactive role, adjusting to these labour market

transitions to support its future workforce demands.

Furthermore, skill gaps are rarely identified, and a limited attempt is made by

most Cameroonian oil and gas companies to address existing skill gaps. The need

for training has therefore become highly competitive in the oil and gas sectors,

and this is because consequently, they will be unable compete with foreign-

owned oil and gas companies. Therefore, this research seeks to explore existing

skill gap analysis in COTCO and Addax and how it relates to employee training

and development.

1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

MAIN OBJECTIVE

The main objective of this study is to investigate the extent to which training and

development in COTCO and Addax Petroleum addresses skill shortages in the

organization.

Specifically this research is to;

To identify the skill shortages in COTCO and Addax.

To examine training and development strategies and its contribution

towards skill shortages in COTCO and Addax

To identify the factors that affect training in COTCO and Addax.

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This study seeks to address the following research questions;

What is the intensity of skill shortage in COTCO and Addax Petroleum

What strategies are used to conduct training and development and how

does this impact on the shortage of skills in COTCO and Addax

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What are the factors affecting training and development in COTCO and

Addax

1.6 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

H0: Training and development do not reduce skill gap in COTCO and Addax.

H1: Training and development reduce skill gaps in COTCO and Addax

1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study seeks to investigate how training and development can bridge the gap

in all companies, but most especially in the oil and gas sectors. This study will

help the researcher and the two companies to be able to understand the extent to

which skill gap analysis is done and how an individual can carry outhis/her job

effectively to meet the company’s goals and objectives. The study intends to show

that training is the corner-stone of sound management. Identifying skill gaps and

measuring the extent to which staff development seals this gap will inform

management of the two organizations on decision making, particularly with

regards to recruitment, training and development.

The study will provide data on the effectiveness of current staff development

activities in the organization and thus facilitate reforms in the manner in which

training is conducted in Addax and COTCO.

Thus conducting this research will certainly boost the moral of the researcher to

understand the methods and techniques of skill gaps analysis as well as on the

strategies adopted by organizations to address gaps in skills. It will equally expose

the researcher to the situation of the staff in the oil and gas sectors that in most

cases seem to be a relatively closed sector. The research will also help the

researcher and the two organizations discover that the industry also needs to draw

12

on talented workers from diverse labour supply pools that have previously not

been sufficiently utilized. These groups include women.

There has been little success in increasing the numbers of skilled women workers,

except in limited cases. Many women workers in the industry face challenge in

advancing their careers and unfavourable treatment in the workplace from their

male counterparts. A climateof diversity needs to be developed, by promoting

family-friendly policies for both women and men, equal pay for work of equal

value, equal opportunities and equal treatment for promotion, and non-

discrimination. There is also a need to increase the number of women in

managerial positions, particularly senior managers. Finally, the research will

facilitate employers to be able to educate universities and other higher institutions

of learning on the type of programmes that students can do to fit in the oil and

gas sectors.

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

The thesis is structured in to five chapters.

The first chapter is focused on a generalintroduction and the background of the

study. Explanations of the research problems, aims and objectives of the research,

research hypothesis, significance and organization of the study and definition of

terms are also presented.

The second chapter is literature review to understand and define the concepts of

training and development, describe its key components and its measurement. The

theoretical framework is explained and the concepts of skill gap analysis. The

next chapter is chapter three, and the purpose of this chapter is to address the

methodology of the work. Issues of population and sample, the study design, the

description and administration of the questionnaire, data collection, processing

and analysis, statistical methods and strategies, validity and reliability of the

13

questionnaires, will be presented. The next chapter is the fourth chapter that is the

presentation of findings in line with the hypothesis.

The final chapter is chapter five of the research which will integrate the results

and draw conclusions and recommendations will be made for the field of human

resource, further research and the organization concerned.

1.9 DEFINITIONOF TERMS

Training:The application of formal processes to impart knowledge and

help people to acquire the skills necessary for them to perform their jobs

satisfactorily (Armstrong, 2009).

Skill gap analysis: Involves defining the skills and knowledge required to

complete a task and comparing a person’s current level to that requirement

(Tara Duggan 2015)

Staff development: The change in individual’s knowledge, understanding,

behaviours, skills and in values and beliefs.(Shirley, 1994)

1

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Conceptualisation of Skill Gap Analysis

Some definitions of skill gap analysis have been presented in various studies on

the concept. However, these definitions provide no consensus on the concept and

fail to set out clear guidelines on measurement and theory building for skill gap

analysis.Much of the discussion about skills gaps assumes that training and skills

are synonymous but simply skills are what an individual possesses, and training

refers to courses available to, if successful, impart skills to an individual. In a

discussion of management training, for example, Deloitte, Haskins and Sells

(1989) describe management training as ‘the process by which managers acquire

the knowledge and skills related to their work requirements by formal, structured

or guided means’ (1989: 3).Many skills may be learn informally and on-the-job;

and it is often argued that this relates more to small firms (Wyn Griffiths,

2003).Bridging skill gap in a large organization means some skill shortage has

been identified. According to (Campbell et al. 2001) Skill shortages occur when

organizations cannot fill vacancies. Organizations may declare skills shortages

when in reality they areexperiencing recruitment problems; through low wage

offers, for example. Skill shortage vacancies are a sub-set of those vacancies that

are hard-to-fill, and one of three reasons for the difficulties to recruit was

identified:

• Few applicants possess the right skills;

• Few applicants possess the experience that the company believes the position

warrants; or

• Few applicants possess the qualifications that the company believes is needed.

2

Skills gaps refer to the situation where a firm has employees, but they are not

skilled enough to meet the organisations’ objectives (Campbell et al., 2001). Skill

gaps are deficiencies between the skills of the current workforce and those

required to meet business objectives.These gaps are measured by asking

employers about the expertise of their current staff. Hogarth et al., (2001) report

that 7% of establishments reported a tightly defined measure of skills gaps where

around one-third of the workforce in an occupation lacked skills. Skills gaps

affect more employers than skill shortages and one-in-ten, employers suffer either

skills gaps or skill shortages (Campbell et al., 2001).Latent skills gaps are the

greatest worry according to Mayhew (2003). These are gaps that are not evident

because the organisation has adjusted to living with low levels of skills in the

workforce in a low skills equilibrium, and are unaware of what is holding them

back. Finegold and Soskice (1988) popularised the low skills/low-quality

equilibrium where they argued that it is not enough to address the supply of skills

because where employers perceive a low level of skills available in the workforce

they will use technology that the lower skilled can utilise effectively. And, this

technology is associated with lower specified products that are less differentiated

and, therefore, result in greater price competition rather than competition on

quality. There does appear to be a link between the organisation’s ability to

change and skills: for example Hogarth and Wilson (2001) report that those

organizations that had adopted new technologies or introduced new products

were significantly less satisfied with the quality of their workforce.

Campbell (2001) believes that latent skills gaps should be measured concerning

three main elements, identified when a company tries to improve its position

regarding growth or market position. Their first two elements are “…skill levels

needed to achieve ‘best practice’ and the perceived skill deficiency when best

practice is achieved.” The third element is “…a range of skills are required to

3

move from the existing situation to a high-performance position i.e. there are

‘transitional’ skill requirements” (p. 187).

When talking of skills that an employee must have, personal attributes are skills

that employers take into consideration when recruiting. This aspect is identified

as a gap in organizations which has to be bridged.

According to Fields, (2002). Prosocial behaviours (also commonly referred to as

organisational citizenship behaviours) have received a considerable amount of

attention in organisational psychology and behaviour research in the last 20 years.

Prosocial behaviours are define as positive actions on the part of workers to

improve their relationships with colleagues and organisational productivity that

are above and beyond minimal contractual obligations and organisational

requirements. Prosocial behaviours are often seen as being discretionary on the

part of the employee, not explicitly recognized by the organisation’s formal

reward system and, the aggregate, promote team working, and make the

workplace easier to run. The evidence base for the effects of employee prosocial

behaviour on individual, unit and organisational performance is impressive and

increasing all the time (Organ and Payne, 1999). For example, prosocial

behaviour has been found to relate to individual performance.

Stevens, (1994) talked of transferable skills where he says these skills have value

in more than one organization, but the number of organizations where they are

valuable may be small; the skills may be linked to a specialised technology;

however, the distinction about these skills is that they are not valued in wages due

to market imperfections, and so it is unlikely that wage earners would bear the

costs of training. The Stevens identify these skills as vocational skills, which they

define as/ Occupational or technical skills needed to work within an occupation

or occupational group. Promoting the development of basic skills does not require

us to reinvent the wheel! In recent decades, numerous outstanding basic

4

approaches and techniques have been developed by educational science,

psychology and social work that are of use in this task.

2.1.2Skills and Productivity

Better productivity is a key aspiration of any organization to achieve its goals and

objectives. As the Pre-Budget Report of 1998 put it “Productivity….is a

fundamental yardstick of economic performance. According to Robert Solow,

a Nobel Prize-winning economist, in his seminal 1956 paper, ‘A Contribution to

the Theory of Economic Growth’ (Solow, 1956) produced an elegant framework

in which to think about productivity and economic growth, Solow argued that in

order for a company to increase its output, and hence wealth, a possible measure

that it could take was to increase its savings rates as this would directly feed into

investment and hence boost capital stock, hence increasing the company’s wealth.

In fact, the crucial question that Solow’s work highlighted was, not how we can

increase the capital stock, but indeed how we can get more out of the stock of

capital and people we already have. How can we increase the growth rate of the

company? This difference may seem trivial, but the key point is that an increase

in capital stock implies a one-off increase in output, whereas an increase in the

growth rate, implies a compound increase that carries on indefinitely. Solow’s

(1956) view on this was that technological progress was given like ‘manna from

heaven’. This in effect meant that technology was ‘out there’ and countries had

free and ready access to it. Hence, the productivity levels were simply taken as

given. Companies habitually seek out experienced people to work with them,

much time is on learning how to use technology (think computers for example),

and systems are being developed with codes that fit with the needs. In a generic

sense, it is all ‘out there’, implying that it can be bought or found. But from a

practical point of view, it is not. The most advanced computer systems will be of

no use in a third world country (where it would arguably do most good). It will

fail because of lack of support systems, local know-how, lack of other similar

5

technologies and infrastructure. This endogeneity of growth implied some things,

but the most relevant was that there was a role for policy in increasing growth

rates. As with all things, the theory took on many facets of what the policy could

be. There has been a multitude of ideas but many leads back to the necessary up-

skilling of the workforce. The education of the workforce has come to be seen as

the primary means by which governments can drive economic growth (Jones,

1998).

Borghans and de Grip, (2002) gave their view about skills and productivity saying

that a significant development caused by the trend of increasing levels of

education on productivity is due to people with higher levels of education who

are holding jobs previously held by those with lower levels –such as school

leavers. This phenomenon that they termed as ‘Over-education. They believe

there are two views used to explain this phenomenon, both resulting in pessimistic

implications for the position of low-skilled workers. The first position is the

‘over-education’ view, which sees people holding jobs where a lower level of

education than their own is required. The second view is the upgrading view,

where employers raise the entry levels required. Both views see low-skill workers

as increasingly marginalised as their skill levels no longer meet the minimum

requirement of the labour market. There are other implications to over-education

than just marginalising low-skill workers, and these have serious implications for

policy. Over-education is known to affect worker turnover (Topel, 1986, Hersch,

1991)

Blundell et al. 1996 in their work exclusively said the relationship between wage

increases and productivity gains can vary according to the structure of the labour

and product markets and according to whom pays the costs of training. In a simple

neoclassical view of the labour market, where the market is perfectly competitive,

wages will be equal to the value of marginal product. Thus, the wage can be taken

as a direct measure of productivity. However, even, in this case, there can be a

6

divergence between observed earnings and productivity if the employee receives

an element of non-financial remuneration or, especially, if the employer is

providing training but the employee is paying part or all of the costs of training.

An employee may implicitly pay the costs of a training scheme to the employer

in the form of lower wages while being trained, which then rise after training is

completed.

If this is the case, then we might see a greater increase in observed wages than in

productivity due to training costs driving a wedge between (net) earnings and

productivity.

2.1.3 Impact of Skills on Productivity

There is, however, very little empirical work on the impact of education, skills

and training on directly measured productivity. The reason is that most datasets

on these human capital variables are not matched up to company level data so

that estimation is not possible. Instead, micro studies typically concentrate on

training and have found impacts of training on subjective measures of

performance. In the US, Bartel (1995) found a significant relationship between

formal on-the-job training and the subjective performance ratings of professional

employees by using the 1986-1990 personnel records of a large US

manufacturing company. Also on US data, Barron et al. (1989) find that a 10%

increase in training is associated with a 3 per cent increase in the growth of a

subjective productivity scale while Russel et al. (1985) find similar results for a

sample of retail stores.

According to Rousseau and Shperling, (2003) when an individual seeks skills

training with a supplier of skills they are essentially engaging in an exchange

where they will provide such things as their time and money in exchange for a

rewarding training experience. One way of exploring this deal is through the

concept of the psychological contract. The psychological contract has mainly

7

been applied to the relationship between an employee and their employer. For

example, it has been recently argued that one of the main ways to ensure skilled

workers are retained by their organisations is to ensure careful management of

employees’ psychological contracts. Rousseau went supplementary to say that the

psychological contract refers to the reciprocal expectations and obligations in the

exchange between two parties. These obligations refer to both explicit written and

verbal obligations and also to unwritten promises implied by the other party’s

behaviour or inferred from past practices and promises. For example, when an

employee agrees to take part in a training programme, they might have

expectations that the training will increase their employability, be relevant to their

jobs, and indicate that the organisation values their contributions and is willing to

invest in them. In return, the employee believes that he or she is expected to attend

all parts of the training programme, be enthusiastic, apply what they have learnt

to their jobs, not leave their positions immediately after training, and so on.

Kanfer, 1991; Tannenbaum and Yukl, 1992, on their part made mentioned of

motivation for training that they said training motivation has been define as the

direction, effort, intensity, and persistence which trainees apply to learning-

oriented activities before, during, and after training. Trainees’ motivation to learn

and attend training affects skill acquisition and whether newly acquired skills,

knowledge and abilities are applied on the job (Tannenbaum and Yukl, 1992).

Colquitt, LePine and Noe’s (2000) did a review on training motivation that review

carried over 256 studies examining training motivation over the last 20 years,

demonstrated that training motivation is influence by a set of individual, career

and situational characteristics. Individual characteristics positively influencing

training motivation were high cognitive ability; a high internal locus of control

(i.e., the extent to which a person believes events and outcomes are under their

control, as opposed to factors outside of their control); high self-efficacy (an

individual’s belief that he/she is able to carry out a particular task successfully);

8

high valence (i.e., the trainee places a high value on the training offered), low

levels of anxiety; people who have a strong need to achieve generally in their

lives; people who are generally conscientious; and younger individuals. Older

workers consistently showed lower motivation.

Bommer, Miles and Grover, 2003, also came up with a study that they called

training for generic skills. It demonstrated that virtually all learning from the first-

hand experience can occur vicariously by observing how others behave. It is

much more likely to be learned through organisational training programmes, and

more likely still through everyday social interaction. Two very important

concepts in Bandura’s (1996) social learning theory are firstly, modelling, where

individuals develop their own patterns of behaviour by observing and copying the

behaviour of others, and secondly, through self-regulation where individuals

monitor their progress towards a goal, changing behaviour accordingly to ensure

goals are met, and rewarding themselves when targets are met. Stasz, 2001 on his

part made mentioned of work based learning that is applied and informal training.

The academic and political debate concerning the development of human

resource tends to focus almost exclusively on education and formal training.

Researchers from the socio-cultural perspective underscore the contextualised,

situated nature of work as a social activity. They show that human choice, actions

and other characteristics of the work all affect actual skill requirements, implying

that some skills can only be learned on the job and that these are taught in a

different way.

Green et al., 2001 describe the concept of skills gap analysis by mentioning the

fact that applied and informal learning occurs through many different processes

such as job rotation, work experience and learning by doing. Apprenticeships are

probably the UK’s most common and traditional form of this type of learning,

where the learner in a work setting, interacting with others who have already

mastered the trade, acquires skills and knowledge through active participation.

9

The learner internalised knowledge, which is ‘discovered’, ‘transmitted’ from

others, or ‘experienced’ in interactions with others. Overall, applied and informal

learning is distinct from formal training as the latter requires ‘reproduction’ of

existing skills, and applied or informal learning is an ‘expansion’ of skills

required to cope with the challenges in changing work environments. An

important question for policy makers is whether more educated workers acquire

extra skills faster than less educated workers. In fact, recent research has found

that with the exception of computing skills, there is some indication that less

educated workers were indeed making up for this lower level by more work-based

learning(Green et al., 2001).

2.2 Conceptualisation of Training and Development

According to (Roger Buckley and Jim Caple, 2009:8), Training is a planned and

systematic effort to modify or develop knowledge/skill/ attitude through a

learning experience, to achieve effective performance in an activity or range of

activities. Its purpose, in the work situation, is to enable an individual to acquire

abilities so that he or she can perform adequately a given task or job and realize

their potential. Training comes through education and as cited in the works of

Roger and Caple 2009:8 education is the process and a series of activities that

aim at enabling an individual to assimilate and develop knowledge, skills, values

and understanding that are not simply related to a narrow field of activity but

allow a broad range of problems to be defined, analysed and solved. The reason

for this is to relate concepts and principles from the psychology of training and

development to real occupational issues to make a constructive contribution to

organisations (Goldstein I. L. & Ford K. 2002). According to the works of Dr.

Andrew Shepherd, training and development play an important role in the

effectiveness of organisations and to the experiences of people in work. Training

has implications for productivity, health and safety at work and personal

development. All organisations employing people need to train and develop their

10

staff. Most organisations are cognisant of this requirement and invest effort and

other resources in training and development. Such investment can take the form

of employing specialist training and development staff and paying salaries to staff

undergoing training and development. Investment in training and development

entails obtaining and maintaining space and equipment. It also means that

operational personnel, employed in the organisation’s main business functions,

such as production, maintenance, sales, marketing and management support,

must also direct their attention and effort from time to time towards

supporting training, development and delivery. This means they are required to

give less attention to activities that are obviously more productive in terms of the

organisation’s main business. However, investment in training and

development is generally regarded as good management practice to maintain

appropriate expertise now and in the future. Warr, 2002 on his own point of view

describe training and development relating it to occupational psychology which

he states that training has long been one of the main concerns of occupational

psychology – this is not surprising given that training involves learning and that

learning is a central issue in psychology. Training is one ofthe core skills of

occupational psychology. People with qualifications in and experience of

occupational psychology have been employed in different capacities in

training and development roles in government organisations, private companies

and consultancy groups. The discipline offers many benefits and perspectives to

help resolve training issues and problems and has also been at the root of many

methods and techniques that have now become part of the routine practices

within human resource management. Training specialists must be alert to the

wider issues regarding the problems presented to them and need the skills and

confidence to deal with them. They must understand how training fits into the

wider organisational context. An occupational psychology perspective is

extremely beneficial in helping the practitioner to understand how training

relates to other interventions aimed at improving job performance.

11

Reynolds, (2004) gave his own point of view by saying that training is the use of

systematic and planned instruction activities to promote learning. The approach

can be summarized in the phrase ‘learner-based training’. It involves the use of

formal processes to impart knowledge and help people to acquire the skills

necessary for them to perform their jobs satisfactorily. It is described as one of

theseveral responses an organization can undertake to promote learning. As

Reynolds (2004) points out, training has a complementary role to play in

accelerating learning: ‘It should be reserved for situations that justify a more

directed, expert-led approach rather than viewing it as a comprehensive and all-

pervasive people development solution.’ He also commented that the

conventional training model has a tendency to ‘emphasize subject-specific

knowledge, rather than trying to build core learning abilities’. He went further in

his works by saying that: ‘The transfer of expertise by outside experts is risky

since their design is often removed from the context in which work is created.’

This is a fundamental problem and applies equally to run internally training

courses where what has been taught can be difficult for people to apply in the

entirely different circumstances in their workplace. Training can seem to be

remote from reality and the skills and knowledge acquired can appear to be

irrelevant. This particularly applies to management or supervisory training, but

even the manual skills learnt in a training centre may be difficult to transfer. This

problem can be tackled by making the training as relevant and realistic as

possible, anticipating and dealing with any potential transfer difficulties.

Individuals are more likely to apply learning when they do not find it too difficult,

believe what they learnt is relevant, useful and transferable, are supported by line

managers, have job autonomy, and believe in themselves and are committed and

engaged. The transfer is also more likely if systematic training and ‘just-in-time

training’ approaches are used.

12

According to Patrick, J.(1992) recent decades have showed that, learning theories

became more effective in their insights and breadth of coverage, and the tasks

studied both in the laboratory and in the field, have tended to be more complex.

Reported research often reflects greater complexity over the years as more

involved situations are examined. Added to this has been a growth in the interest

of individual differences among learners reflecting either differences in ability

(general or specific) or other variables such as age, sex, personality, and ethnic

background. Training research often emerges as a by-product of investigating a

real problem that an investigator has encountered. It can take different forms and

provides different benefits that we can use in future applications. One approach

considers training methods and principles. The researcher demonstrates how an

idea can be applied to deal with a particular type of problem. Often, ideas are

tested in a controlled experiment, gaining credence if a significant difference is

observed. But a significant result might only apply to that work context; a non-

significant result does not logically mean that the idea would not work in a

different context. Often such studies cannot be taken as categorical evidence for

or against a particular training method investigated, but are best regarded as a

demonstration of how this type of training method might be applied.

Accordingly to Tannenbaum, 2002 training refers to the methods used to give

new or present employees the skills that they need to perform their jobs.

Additionally, the focus on training is a performance improvement, which is

directed towards maintaining and improving current job performance. Hence,

training is the important function that directly contributes to the development of

human resources. Training is an essential part of the organization since

technology develops continuously at a faster rate. Systems and practices get out-

dated soon due to new discoveries in technology. These include technical,

managerial and behavioural aspects. Organizations, which do not develop a

system, to catch up with uses the growing technology that soon become stale.

13

However, developing individuals in the organization can contribute towards

theeffectiveness of the organization. A good training sub-system would greatly

help in monitoring the directions in which employees should develop in the best

interests of the organization. “A good training system also ensures that employees

develop in directions congruent with their career plans”.

2.2.1 Strategic Training and Development

Strategic Training and Development focuses on the design and implementation

of training systems to successfully impact organizational performance.

Tannenbaum (2002) provided one of the most comprehensive models of the

strategic training and development process. All training interventions should be

carefully planned, designed, and evaluated in support of organizational goals and

objectives. Several authors suggest that most organizational training and

development initiative that has occurred in the last decade have been strategic

because they have emphasized knowledge management, continuous learning and

development programmes to help organizations increase their ability to detect

change, adapt and anticipate trends (Kraiger and Ford 2006); (Sessa and London

2006). Before implementing any training programme, the company should assess

the needs of the training. On needs assessment, the emphasis is on aligning

training systems with the organizations business strategy and operating

constraints. Further, the training design is on the development of systems of

interventions to support knowledge as well as skills acquisition and transfer,

rather than on the design and implementation of discrete training activities or

methods. Evaluation is, therefore, focused on demonstrating an organizational

impact of training investments.

2.2.1.2 Approaches to Training and Development

As we approach the second decade of the 21st century, change remains an

enduring theme. To survive and prosper, organizations in the private and the

public sectors will need to respond in a timely and flexible way to social,

14

technological, economic and political change. This means that an organization’s

survival and growth will depend on its ability to cope with the external and

internal requirements that these changes will demand. This implies that existing

and new staff will need to acquire new knowledge, skills, attitudes and

perspectives on a continual basis Roger Buckley, 2007. Dugan.( 2002) cited in

his work that training and development has become concerned not only with

helping individuals to fill their positions adequately but also with helping entire

organizations and sub-departments to grow and develop. Thus, the sign on the

door has changed from “Training and Development” to titles Training and

Development Departments reflecting missions such as “Employee

Development,” “Organization Development,” or “Human Resource

Development.” Training is concerned with the meeting of two inputs to

organizational effectiveness: people and technology. Since organizations can

rarely find people who are, at the time of employment, total masters of the unique

requirements for specific jobs, organizations need a subsystem called “training”

to help new employees master the technology of their tasks. Training changes

uninformed employees into informed employees; training changes unskilled or

semiskilled workers into employees who can perform their assigned tasks in the

way the organization wants them done; employees become workers who do

things “the right way.” This “right way” is called a standard—and one major

function of training is to produce people who do their work “at standard.” In fact,

one simple way to envision how training contributes is to look at the steps by

which people control their positions.

Step 1.Define the right (or standard) way for performing all the tasks needed by

the organization.

Step 2. Secure people to perform these tasks.

15

Step 3. Find out how much of the task they can already perform. (What is their

“inventory” of the necessary technology?)

Step 4. Train them to meet skill gaps—the difference in what they cannot already

do and the standard for performing the task.

Step 5. Test them to make certain they can perform their assigned tasks to

minimum standards.

Step 6. Give them the resources necessary to perform their tasks.

The organization has to undergo a major change in various ways such as

equipment changes, processes change, policies change, and procedures change.

Thus, old employees and new employees alike need training initiatives to benefit

from them. When a change occurs, an organization will have incumbent workers

who no longer know how to do their jobs the new, right way. When people do

not know how to do their jobs the right way, there is a training need. People do

not usually know how to do the “next job” properly. Thus transfers, or the

promotions implied in some career-planning designs, imply potential education

needs. Some organizations have training departments that help prepare for the

future. According to Jim Caple, 2009 training has always played an important and

an integral part in furthering many kinds of human learning and development. If

organizations are to make the best of the training function in their response to and

promotion of change, the training function will need to be closely linked with

business plans. This means that a detailed training policy needs to be agreed and

implemented from the top of the organization and supported by management at

all levels. It also means that the training and development function has to be

accountable in the same way that other functions are. In this environment where

change is frequent, the training function cannot allow itself to become the

‘dinosaur’ of the organization. It too must explore and introduce new strategies

and methods of learning to meet the changing needs of the organization and its

16

learners. (Roger, 2007:5) The use of technology and various forms of distance-

and open-learning need to be employed when appropriate, and trainers need to

examine their roles and develop them to meet new and differing demands.

Trainers have received greater recognition as having skills that enable them, often

better than others, to act as agents for change; to become involved in internal

consultancy relating to organizational development, quality and performance

management; and to develop a learning organization.

Atkins,1983 in his works came up with a systematic approach to training which

he explains that the terms ‘systems approach’ and ‘systematic approach’ are used

widely to describe how trainers apply themselves to the training function. This

has caused some confusion and frequently the question is asked as to whether

these terms have the same meaning. Drawing upon systems theory, Atkins (1983)

makes a distinction between the use of the words ‘system’ and ‘systematic’. He

suggests that the term ‘systems approach’ can be interpreted in two ways. It can

be used to describe an approach that views training as a sub-system interacting

with the other subsystems upon which an organization depends for its progress

and its survival. This was the context in which training was placed at the end of

the last chapter. This approach enables an observer to obtain a wider picture of

training functioning within the system within the organization as a whole. It gives

a broader and possibly a different perspective of factors, influences and problems

and the way in which they impact not just upon the training function but upon all

parts of the system. Another way in which the term ‘systems approach’ can be

interpreted is as a logical relationship between the sequential stages in the process

of investigating training needs, designing, delivering and validating training.

Atkins believes that the emphasis on logical and sequential planning and action

makes it more appropriate to describe this process as systematic. While it might

appear that a systems approach and a systematic approach are quite different, they

17

are not incompatible when they are applied to training. The diagram below

explains a basic model of a systematic approach to training.

2.2.1.3Training and the Organizational Environment

Here, Roger and Jim (2009:6) stated thateffectively managed and integrated

learning and development procedures, both at the individual and corporate levels,

are vital to an organization’s present and future effectiveness and viability. At the

individual level learning is the process whereby knowledge, skills and attitudes

are acquired through experience, reflection, study or instruction. Development

refers to the general enhancement and growth of these through conscious and

unconscious learning. Ultimately, learning and development activities should

help to improve and enhance an individual’s competence and potential. However,

before examining how training is initiated and organized, and how it contributes

to an individual’s learning and development, it is appropriate to consider the

wider organizational considerations that encourage and support this

enterprise.Amongst the many developments that have been introduced to

organizations, that are of becoming a learning organization it has taken on a high

profile. It has also led to confusion about what it actually is and some scepticism

as to whether it can exist at all. PedlerBoydell and Burgoyne (1991) give the view

that ‘It is not brought about simply by training individuals; it can only happen as

a result of learning at the whole organization level’ and, although it is difficult to

define precisely, the description that they offer encompasses the key sentiments

that a learning organization is ‘an organization that facilitates the learning of its

members and continually transforms itself’. Learning by the organization and by

individuals within it is seen as critical to its survival and development.

Furthermore, as Senge (2006) suggests, the learning organization ‘is continually

expanding its capacity to create its future’. Drawing upon these descriptions, a

profile can be built up to show what a learning organization should be.

18

From what has been discussed it can be seen that, essentially, learning

organizations have to operate as open systems (in all senses of that term) in

relation to their internal and external environments. Burgoyne (1999) believes

that an organization cannot be converted into a learning organization in one grand

project, but that the concept should be used to guide specific projects. However,

for the concept to become a reality, a number of issues need to be addressed. To

overcome the barriers that are likely to be created by internal politics,

constitutional forms and systems need to be introduced to give people the

opportunity to question and to challenge existing practices and beliefs, and to try

out new ideas in a blame-free environment so that the organization is continually

improving itself. Safeguards need to be incorporated to prevent the learning

organization from being used as a cover for something else, for example,

downsizing, which could be made to look more respectable if introduced as a

strategy within the framework of the learning organization. There needs to be a

synergy with the stakeholders and any conflict between them must be resolved.

Strategies need to be developed to enable collective learning to take place in

circumstances where functions such as human resource management have been

separated or devolved from a central function, or where there is a multi-site

operation.Concerning the acquisition of knowledge, there needs to be an

understanding of where the collective learning processes take place and where

the subsequent collective knowledge is kept, that is in people’s heads, in

technology, in procedures, in cultures, in traditions and the curricula of training

courses and events, Jim Caple (2009).

2.2.1.4 Training Needs

A great deal of consideration has to be given to deciding whether to embark on

some form of training to meet individual learning and development needs; this is

to see how it can bridge skill gaps that exist in organizations thus in this light

Roger.B, (2009) came up with the idea that It is important to appreciate the

19

circumstances that indicate whether or not training is required, and there is a need

to be thoroughly familiar with the methods, approaches and forms of analysis that

have to be used to reach the decision to implement training. The criticality of this

process cannot be over emphasized bearing in mind the consequences that might

arise for organizations that provide too little training or no training at all when a

real need exists. Boydell, (1976) emphasize thatto expand on this explanation,

training can be initiated in response to two kinds of training need; one may be

described as reactive and the other proactive. The former arises out of an

immediate and urgent on-job production or productivity shortfall for which a

behavioural cause has been identified and separated from other possible causes.

By contrast, proactive training may be closely associated with an organization’s

corporate strategy and manpower plan. It is very much future orientated and may

come about for some reasons such as anticipated technical developments, the

results of management development and personal replacement action and

policies. These two sets of needs can also be contrasted about the concept of

change .To expatiate on this,current needs are due to faults in the present

situation; to solve such needs will, of course, involve change, but this change

occurs after the need is identified. Future needs, on the other hand, will arise as a

result of achange.

2.3 Theoretical Framework

Nikolas Rose, (2014) postulated that the constitutive or constructive nature of

organization theory is one reason we have to be cautious about the way we use

its concepts to think about people in organizations. But there is a second issue,

and this relates to the continuities between human relation theory and scientific

management. For not only does organization theory contribute to constituting

what it claims to be describing but it does so, in particular, ways, for particular

reasons. The impetus for Human Resource Training was that of organizational

control and, more particularly, the attempt by managers to gain control over

20

organizational processes. So the kind of knowledge produced and the uses to

which it is put has to be read in the light of that aspiration for control.

Organization theory is often and certainly in the case of Human Resource

Training (HRT), indistinguishable from theories of managing. In this way,

organization theory is a part of making this social process happens. Several

theories of human behaviour help us understand and predict behaviours that

contribute to performance at work, as well as clarify the motivation to transfer

factor in Holton’s model. They include the theories of expectancy, equity, and

goal setting.This are all theories of training which will deliver good performance.

2.3.1 Expectancy theory

Vroom’s original presentation of expectancy theory placed it in the mainstream

of contemporary motivation theory (Moorhead and Griffin, 1992). Vroom (1964,

p. 17) defined expectancy as “a momentary belief concerning the likelihood that

a particular act will precede a particular outcome.”His formulation suggested that

job performance (P) is the result of the interaction of two components, force (F)

and ability (A), with ability representing the potential for performing some task.

The force to perform an act is the algebraic sum of the products of the valences

of all outcomes (E) and the valence or rewards of those outcomes (V). In equation

form, the theory reads: P = f(F X A) (cited in Kilgore, 1997). Vroom’s model

emphasizes an individual’s capacity or ability, rather than willingness, to perform

a specific task. Since it was first introduced, the model has been refined and

extended. An exception is the version of expectancy theory presented by Porter

and Lawler (1968, as cited in Moorhead and Griffin, 1992), which takes a novel

view of the relationship between employee satisfaction and performance.

Although the conventional wisdom was that satisfaction leads to performance,

Porter and Lawler argued the reverse: if rewards are adequate, high levels of

performance may lead to satisfaction. The Porter-Lawler extension includes

abilities, traits, and role perceptions (how well the individual understands his or

21

her job). At the beginning of the motivation cycle, effort is a function of the value

of the potential reward for the employee (its valence) and the perceived effort-

reward probability (an expectancy). The effort then combines with abilities, traits,

and role perceptions to determine performance. Performance results in two kinds

of rewards. Intrinsic rewards are intangible—a feeling of accomplishment, a

sense of achievement, and so forth. Extrinsic rewards are tangible outcomes, such

as pay or promotion. The individual judges the value of his or her performance to

the organization and uses social comparison processes to form an impression of

the equity of the rewards received. If the rewards are regarded as equitable, the

employee feels satisfied. In subsequent cycles, satisfaction with rewards

influences the value of the rewards anticipated and actual performance following

effort influences future perceived effort-reward probabilities.

2.3.2Equity Theory.

Equity theory is based on the simple premise that people want to be treated fairly

(Adams, 1963). The theory defines equity as the belief that employees are being

treated fairly in relation to others and inequity as the belief that employees are

being treated unfairly in relation to others. Vroom (1964) recognized that

individuals seek equity in their jobs; thus, job satisfaction reflects the extent to

which rewards received match the rewards the employee believes should be

received. Vroom also stated that “the greater the difference between these two

amounts, the greater the tension or disequilibrium experienced by the person”

(p.168). According to Carrell and Dittrich (1978, cited in Ilgen and Klien, 1988),

equity theory rests on three main assumptions: “(1) people develop beliefs about

what constitutes a fair and equitable return for the contributions they make to their

jobs, (2) people compare their own returns and contributions to those of others,

and (3) beliefs about unfair treatment (inequity) create tension that motivates

people to reduce that tension” (p.149). Mechanisms for reducing perceived

inequities include cognitively distorting the inputs or returns and outcomes,

22

acting on the comparison with others to change one’s inputs or outcomes,

changing one’s own inputs or outcomes, changing the person with whom a

comparison is made, and leaving the situation where inequity is felt (Campbell

and Pritchard, 1976). Equity theory predicts that individuals will choose a method

of inequity reduction that is personally least costly (Adams, 1963). However,

predicting which mode will be seen as least costly has proven to be quite

difficult.Noe (1986, cited in Kilgore, 1997) explained the relationship between

motivation to transfer and equity theory: “If an individual feels that by attending

training he [or she] is likely to gain equity in pay or other sought-after rewards,

there is a greater chance that learning will occur, and such learning will transfer

to the job”(p. 55). Thus, in studying motivation to transfer of training, it seems

logical to focus on what employees feel they should receive from their jobs.

2.3.3 Goal-Setting Theory

Goal-setting theory suggests two cognitive determinants of behaviour: intentions

and values. Intentions are viewed as the immediate precursors of human action.

The second cognitive process manifests itself in the choice or acceptance of

intentions and subsequent commitment to those goals (Locke, 1968). It is the

recognition that instructions will affect behaviour only if they are consciously

accepted that makes goal setting a cognitive theory of motivation. A goal is that

level of performance the individual is trying to accomplish; it is the object or aim

of behaviour. According to Locke (1968), Goals direct attention and action. Also,

they mobilize effort in proportion to perceived requirements of the goal or task

(Locke, Shaw, Saari, and Latham, 1981). Therefore, goal setting, like expectancy

theory, may explain how and why the behaviour is facilitated or restrained in the

pre-training, training, and post-training processes. The Goal-setting theory holds

that, once a hard task is accepted, the only logical thing to do is to try until the

goal is achieved or until a decision is reached to lower or abandon the goal

(Locke, 1968). Research further suggests that both goals and feedback are

23

necessary to improve performance and that participation, incentives, and

individual differences affect performance primarily through goal setting (Locke,

Shaw, Sarri, and Latham, 1981). McLean and Persico (1994) cautioned, however,

that these goals must be valid, which requires that they meet three criteria: data

must be derived from a system in a state of statistical control, a valid methodology

must be used, and employees must be able to meet the goal. According to all these

theories, trainees leave training programmes with different perspectives thus the

aspect of motivation comes in because training leads to increase in performance

and also high motivation thus bridging the gap that was existing.

2.4 Empirical Framework

2.4.1 Skill Gaps Analysis

The phrase “skills gap” is used in the public arena very loosely with varying

degrees of understanding of what a “gap” in “skills” actually means. Definitions

of the phrase vary widely, with different schools of thought approaching the issue

in drastically different ways. A formal methodology for quantifying a “skills gap”

is either completely lacking, as in much of the policy-oriented research, or is too

convoluted, as is often the case in the economic literature. A balanced approach

for “skills gap” analysis is needed that incorporates rigorous quantitative methods

with an eye for practical application.However this segment seeks to enter the

conversation by proposing some simple definitions from different authors for the

phrase “skills gap” by the most simple of interpretations:

Holmer,(2001) defines skill gaps as measures which bring out the difference

between the skills needed for a job versus those skills possessed by a prospective

worker. He further explained that, while this definition is not groundbreaking, its

simplicity has been overlooked by those who have been forced to use indirect

measures of “skills” both for jobs and the potential labour pool.

24

According to Mallikarjun et al. (2006) a skills gap analysis can really benefit an

organization by providing a critical overview of the workforce allowing managers

to determine if their employees have the necessary skills to meet organizational

objectives. If employees do not have these skills, an organization can use the

skills gap analysis to prioritize training resources so that they are tailored to

specific job roles rather as opposed to generic training days that are not suitable

for all the Individuals participating.

CHAPTER THREE

DESCRIPTION OF CASE STUDY AND METHODOLOGY

The objective of this study is to investigate the extent to which training and

development in COTCO and Addax Petroleum addresses skill shortage in the

organization and to make necessary recommendations.

This section is to discuss the procedures for gathering data, the background of the

study area, the study design and the methods to be adopted in analysing the data.

25

3.1 Methodology

3.1.1 Study Design

This research makes use of a quantitative research method. This is because the

instrument used to collect data is the questionnaire. In this light, the variables that

will be used for this study will be the dependent variable and the independent

variable. The dependent variable is training and development, and the

independent variable is the skill shortage.

A cross-sectional design based on descriptive design was used. Cross-sectional

design is used when information is to be collected only once (Barbie, 1989;

Malhota et al. 1996). Cross-sectional survey design is justified on the ground that

we adopt a onetime observation, involving proximate and ultimate variables

necessary for the study.

The study is an exploratory research design in which an experience survey will

be carried out in other to obtain insight on how training and development can

close the skill gap that exist in the oil and gas sector. However, descriptive design

focuses on the phenomenon of interest, which according to this study, is to find

out how training and development reduce skill gaps in COTCO and Addax.

Population of study

The population of the study will consist of two oil and gas companies, where a

sample of employees who are in the operation field will be studied. COTCO has

approximately 229 workers that is including those onshore and offshore and of

these 229 workers, operation group has 81workers but 25 of these 81 will be

sampled, and Addax has 1100 workers worldwide.

Sampling technique

26

A sample size of 50 is used for data collection. The sampleis divided into two,

that is 25 for COTCO and 25 for Addax Petroleum. The sampling technique used

for this study is purposive sample. A purposive sample is a non-representative

subset of some larger population and is constructed to serve a very specific need

or purpose. This sampling technique is best preferred for this research because its

a comparative study and both companies are broad, and data cannot be collected

from all departments.

3.2 Model Specification

Staff training enhances employee productivity. It reduces the attrition rate of

workers and it fosters high-level competition and promotes overall staff

development.

3.3Analytical Approach

The collected data were analysed by making use of descriptive statistics, such as

frequency and percentages. And chi-square is used to test the hypothesis set for

the study.

Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 is used to analyse

the survey questionnaire used for the study. A visual representation of the data

isprovided using graphs and tables.

The sample demographics were obtained using analysis of the frequencies of

respondents in each of the demographic categories of gender, job level, age, years

of service in current position and years of service in the company. The dimensions

of the survey questionnaire were examined using Pearson’s Product Moment

Correlation.

27

3.4 Validation and reliability of analysis

The data collected for this study is adopted specifically for the two organizations

that is COTCO and Addax Petroleum, as earlier mentioned. Instruments used for

data collection are questionnaires and interview guides. The instrument of the

study were approved by the supervisor and pre-tested to ensure that questions

were properly stated and understood. Corrections was made on the instrument

following the pre-test.

CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

The aim of this chapter is to report on and discuss the results of the research. The

main aim of the research was to investigate the extent to which training and

development in COTCO and Addax Petroleum addresses skill shortages in the

organization. The chapter commences with the presentation of the descriptive

statistics of the sample. The focus will then shift to exploring the relevance of the

training which employees of both companies receive and the various training

aspects to test the hypothesis.

28

4.1 Descriptive Statistics

In the section that follows, the descriptive statistics calculated for the sample are

provided. The data gathered via the measuring instrument is summarized by

making use of graphs to obtain an overall idea of the data and review the

information and relationships that emerge.

4.1.1 Demographic description of respondents

The biographical variables that are relevant in this part of the study include

gender, age, marital status, educational background, Department of respondents

and respondents rank in the company. These will be represented graphically for

each of the above-mentioned variables

Gender of respondents

The study made use of 50 respondents, and each company had 25 respondents.

All the respondents were male, because of the nature of their job, which is

maintenance operations and highly technical in nature.

Researcher, 2015

0

24 24

44

88

20

48

16

8

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

18-25 years 26-35 years 36-45 years 46-55 years 56-59 years

Per

cen

t

Age group Addax Petroleum COTCO

29

Figure 4.1: Age of the respondents

Data on figure 4.1 reveals that majority of workers in Addax Petroleum (44%)

are aged 46 – 55 years while, in COTCO, a majority (48%) of workers fall within

the age range of 36 to 45 years. Meanwhile, Addax Petroleum has no worker

within the age range of 18 – 25, COTCO has 8% of its workers representing this

age group. Both companies similarly have only 8% of their workers representing

the ages 56-59. The data therefore, suggests that the ages 36 to 55 form an

important age range for staffing within both companies.

Researcher, 2015

Figure 4.2: Marital Status of Respondents

The figure (4.2) above describes the marital status of the respondents in the two

companies. Majority 84% of the respondents from Addax Petroleum and 80% of

the respondents in COTCO are married. Divorces makeup16% in Addax and

none in COTCOIt can therefore be concluded that majority of the respondents in

both companies are married implying a more stable workforce.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Single Married Divorced Separated

Per

cen

t

Marital status

Addax Petroleum COTCO

30

Researcher, 2015

Figure 4.3: Level of Education

The figure (4.3) above describes the educational background of the respondents

in both companies. 40% of the respondents in COTCO and 44% of the

respondents in Addax Petroleum are first degree holders who make a majority.

For the diploma level, 32% of the respondents in COTCO and 4% of the

respondents in Addax Petroleum fall within this group. 12% of the respondents

for Addax Petroleum have FSLC and not from COTCO.

Researcher, 2015

12

28

4

44

12

0

8

32

40

20

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

First school Advance level Diploma First degree Master's degree

Per

cen

ts

Responds option

Addax Petroleum COTCO

28

8 4

3228

4

32

4

56

40

10

20

30

40

50

60

Production Operations andMaintainance

IT Operations Operations andTechnical

Per

cen

ts

Departments

Addax Petroleum COTCO

31

Figure 4.4: Departmental distribution of staff

According to figure 4.4, majority of the respondents in COTCO 56% work in the

operations department and 32% for Addax Petroleum. Both companies similarly

have 4% of the respondents in the IT department. The production sector shows a

28% representation of staff from Addax Petroleum and 4% from COTCO.

Overall, COTCO seems to employ more operation staff while Addax has an

almost average representation of staff across all sectors.

Researcher, 2015

Figure 4.5: Rank of employees in both companies.

Figure 4.5 depicts the breakdown of the sample according to ranks of employees

in both companies. According to the ranking position, 40% of the respondents in

Addax Petroleum are production operators while 32% of respondents in COTCO

fall within this rank as well. COTCO has no respondent holding the position of

senior staff but Addax has 12% of the respondents representing this position. At

a conclusive end, majority of the respondents in Addax Petroleum fall under the

12

28

12

40

8

16

24

32

28

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Senior staff Engineers supervisor Production operator Maintance operator

Per

cen

ts

position of employees

Addax Petroleum COTCO

32

position of the production operator as well respondents in COTCO, who also fall

under the same ranking position

Intensity of skill shortage

Researcher, 2015

Figure 4.6: Years of experience.

From the distribution represented in figure 4.6 one can infer that between 5-

9years, 44% of the respondents in Addax Petroleum fall within this range of

experience in the oil and gas sector while 36% of the respondents in COTCO fall

within this same range. No responses came from COTCO for 20years and above,

but Addax Petroleum has 4% for this range. The data, therefore, suggests that

majority of the workers from both companies have had 5-9 years of experience

in the oil and gas business.

Table 4.1:Training experience

company of respondents Frequency Percent

Addax Petroleum yes 25 100.0

COTCO yes 25 100.0

12

44

12

28

48

36

32

24

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

1-4 years 5-9 years 10-14 years 15-19 years 20 and above

Per

cen

ts

Years of Experience

Addax Petroleum COTCO

33

Researcher, 2015

From the above table (4.1), it describes if the employees have had any form of

training on the both companies upon joining the organization. Thus, from the

responses got from the respondents it can be inferred that their responses were all

valid meaning from both companies all respondents answered (yes) that they have

had training upon joining the company.

Researcher, 2015

Figure 4.7: Selection Option for trainees.

From the figure 4.7 the distribution describes the method of which the employees

of both companies were selected for training. 44% of the respondents in Addax

Petroleum fall under option A and B, while 36% of the respondents in COTCO

fall within this option as well. Similar responses came from both companies on

supervisor’s recommendation, upon employee request, don’t know and all of the

4

1620

4 4

44

8

16 16 16

4 4

36

80

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Per

cen

ts

Selection Options for trainees

Addax Petroleum

COTCO

34

above. In a nutshell majority of the respondents from both companies went for

option A and B.

Researcher, 2015

Figure 4.8: Frequency of Training

From the distribution of training represented in figure 4.8 it is evident that 96%

of the respondents in COTCO responded that training sessions have no specific

schedule while 64% of the respondents in Addax Petroleum fall under this range

as well. No responses came from COTCO for every two years, but 4% of the

respondents in Addax Petroleum said training sessions are scheduled every two

years. To conclude, a majority of the respondents in Addax Petroleum responded

saying training sessions have no specific schedule, as well as majority of the

respondents in COTCO, said the same thing.

Strategies used to conduct training and development and its impact on the

skills shortage.

Here we are interested in what the employee thinks about the training.

In order to find out the type of training that the employees undertake they were

asked on the type of training they received, and the responds was mainly training

on Mechanical seal, Caterpillar Engine, Solar Centaur Turbine, Basic

324

64

4

96 100

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Once a year Every two years No specific schedule

Per

cen

t

Frequency of Training

Addax Petroleum COTCO

35

instrumentation, Firefighting OPITTO, Water Survival (Bosie), HSSE

Workshops, Process safety, Turbine Operation and Maintenance local training,

Trainings on safety and health. From the above list of training mostly carried in

the two companies, they are mostly on thetechnical operation and health and

safety.

Researcher, 2015

Figure 4.9: Effectiveness of language of instruction

Figure 4.9 represents the distribution how effective is the language of

instructions during training delivered to the employees from both companies.

76% of the respondents in Addax Petroleum said the language of instruction was

effective, while 60% of the respondents in COTCO fall with this range.20% of

the respondents in Addax Petroleum said the language of instruction was very

effective, and 32% of the respondents in COTCO gave their responses to this

light. However, 4% of the respondents in Addax Petroleum said the language was

ineffective, and 8% of the respondents in COTCO responded to ineffectiveness.

It can, therefore, be concluded that majority of the respondents in Addax

20

76

4

32

60

80

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

very effective effective ineffective

Per

cen

t

Effectiveness of Language of Instruction

Addax Petroleum COTCO

36

Petroleum responded that the language was effective, and the same goes for

COTCO.

Researcher, 2015

Figure 4.10: Effectiveness of facilitation methods

The figure 4.10 represents how effective the method of facilitation during

training, which is delivered to the employees from both companies. According to

the graph, 76% of the respondents in Addax Petroleum responded that the training

method had a high impact on them and 96% of the respondents in COTCO fall

within this range. Finally, 24% of the respondents in Addax Petroleum said the

method of facilitation of training has an impact and 4% of the respondents in

COTCO fall within this range. The data, therefore, suggests that the facilitation

method has high impact on employees of both companies.

76

24

96

40

20

40

60

80

100

120

High impact Impact

Per

cen

ts

Facilitation Methods

Addax Petroleum COTCO

37

Assessing the quality of the following training aspects

Researcher, 2015

Figure 4.11: Quality of training

Figure 4.11 it is assessing the quality of the training aspects in both companies.

It can be inferred above that 48% of the respondents in COTCO responded that

the training aspect is very good, and 40% of the respondents in Addax Petroleum

fall within this range. No responses came from COTCO as to say the quality of

training is poor but 4% of the respondents in Addax Petroleum fall within this

range. It is therefore concluded that majority of the respondents in Addax

Petroleum says the quality of the training is excellent while a majority of the

respondents in COTCO says it is very good.

4440

124

20

48

32

00

10

20

30

40

50

60

exellent Very good average Poor

Per

cen

ts

Quality options

Addax Petroleum COTCO

38

Researcher, 2015

Figure 4.12: Trainer’s content of training

Figure 4.12 describes the quality of the content of training in both companies. It

can be interpreted from the graph above that 44% of the respondents in Addax

Petroleum responded that the content of the training is very good while 36% of

the respondents in COTCO fall within this range. Both companies similarly have

only 20% for average. In a nutshell majority of the respondents in Addax

Petroleum says the training content is very good and majority of the respondents

in COTCO also fall within this range.

3644

20

4436

20

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

exellent Very good average

Per

cen

ts

Quality options

Addax Petroleum COTCO

39

Researcher, 2015

Figure 4.13: Trainer’s Selection of Trainees.’

Figure 4.13 depicts the breakdown of the trainer’s selection of trainees. It can be

inferred that both companies have 44% of the average responses and 4% of the

respondents in COTCO responded saying trainers selection of trainees is poor,

but no responses, came from Addax Petroleum as to this effect. Conclusively, a

majority of the respondents in Addax Petroleum says the trainer’s selection of

trainees is average, and the same majority goes for COTCO.

20

36

44

12

4044

40

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

exellent Very good average Poor

Per

cen

t

Quality option

Addax Petroleum COTCO

40

Researcher, 2015

Figure 4.14: Relevance of Training to the work.

Figure 4.14 depicts how relevant the training that the employees receive is to their

work in both companies. Thus, 84% of the respondents in Addax Petroleum

strongly agree that the training was very relevant to their work and 80% of the

respondents in COTCO fall within this range. Meanwhile, 16% of the respondents

in Addax Petroleum disagree that the training they received was not relevant to

their work and 20% of the respondents in COTCO fall within this range. This,

therefore, means that the training which is delivered is very relevant to employees

of both companies.

Table 4.2: skill improvement due to training

company of respondents Frequency Percent

Addax Petroleum Yes 25 100.0

COTCO Yes 25 100.0

Researcher, 2015

84

16

80

20

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

very relevant not relevant

Per

cen

ts

Relevants Options

Addax Petroleum COTCO

41

It is evident that in the Table (4.2) above, the training, which the employees

receive in both companies has greatly improved their skills and which has led to

high productivity.

Factors affecting training and development in COTCO and Addax

Here we are interested in the factors that affect training in the organization.

This section of the research describes the problems that the employees from both

companies face with regards to training and below are some of the responses that

were got from the respondents in Addax and COTCO. To begin with the

responses from Addax, most of the respondents said no training plan is schedule

for the organization, lack of opportunity to choose for the period to be trained and

as a result of this they don’t have time to prepare for the training, training is more

on lecturing and presentation than practical, and the last problem they raised was

that the syllabus for training are always rushed over because most of the training

are done within a short time.

From the responses got from COTCO as concerns the problems the respondents

responded by bringing up the following; the location chosen for training do not

really reflects the need for which it is interned, short notice given during training

and due to this the training plan is not followed, regular refreshing training,

budget dedicated to the training is not enough to give more training to employees,

the company cutting training budgets too much and placing it at the lowest

priority even though some of those training are key to safety and efficient

operations, be given more opportunities for development, training is not

scheduled at the right time and some training should be attained before one moved

to the position, employees are not given the opportunity to obtain training they

really need, training should not be based on the individual rule map to improve

performance on hand on and finally, the last problem they raised was lack of

technical training. All in all from the two companies they seem to have a common

problem that they all face even though majority of the respondents in Addax

42

Petroleum complained of the fact that employees are not given the opportunity to

choose the period that they best prefer to be trained, and majority of the

employees in COTCO said budget allocated for training is limited. Looking at it

from a wider perspective they all have a common problem and which is the fact

that budget allocated for training is small and the fact that the training plan is not

followed due to limited time thus the syllabus are being rushed over.

Researcher, 2015

Figure 4.15: Increase Productivity

The figure 4.15 describes further training for motivation towards performance. It

can be inferred that 88% of the respondents in Addax Petroleum gave their

responses as YES to the effect that further training for motivation should be given

to improve productivity while 72% of the respondents in COTCO fall within this

range. 12% of the respondents in Addax Petroleum answered NO to this light and

28% of the respondents in COTCO fall under this range. To conclude it can be

said that majority of the respondents in both companies said YES to the fact that

further training for motivation on bridging skill gap should be organized.

In this light, the researcher is interested in finding out ways in which the

employees think training can be improved in both companies. These are some of

88

12

72

28

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Yes No

Per

cen

ts

Responds Option

Addax Petroleum COTCO

43

the responses got starting with Addax Petroleum. Different periods of training

should be designed so that the employees should have the opportunity to choose

the period that best suits them, training should be given to everyone according to

the minimum educational background, training can be improved by organizing

frequent group training because individual might be too expensive to the

company especially at this time of low crude oil price in the world market,

specific training should be given for each craft, training should be adequately

planned in order to exhaust the required time for the purpose, employees should

have a well-defined career plan and address to the management and they finally

a recommendation that training requests by employees should be properly

reviewed.

Here are the responses got from COTCO as recommendation to how training and

development can be improved. Good set up of road map for each position,

allocation of financial resources, good scheduling of training, improvement could

be by proper orientation and mentoring, refresher course can help build a stronger

and improve productivity, for each position in the company, a training plan

should be developed in such a way that if they have a new hire they should not

waste time to find out which type of training is required for a given position,

money should be spent on training, allow time for training, use on-line or

computer based training, use correspondence-self paced course, training should

focus on the individual, address specific training for employees based on their

current position, personnel from training department should interact more with

field personnel and management so as to have them more involved in training,

the training locations chosen should reflect the purpose is meant for and in a

nutshell, they recommended that training budget should be improved.

It can, however, be concluded that a majority of the respondents in Addax

recommended that employees should be informed before the training so that they

can be prepared for training while majority of the respondents in COTCO

44

recommended that the budget allocated for training should be improved and

regular refresher plan can help improve productivity.

4.2 Hypothesis testing

The aim of this section is to test the hypothesis set for the study. The hypothesis

states that training and development reduce skill gaps in COTCO and Addax

Petroleum. To confirm or reject this hypothesis, respondents were asked to rate

the relevance of training received in line with the quality of the trainer’s content.

It is expected that relevant training will fill skill gaps and improve productivity

levels.

Table 4.3:Cross tabulation on the quality of trainer’s contents and

relevance to the work for ADDAX Petroleum

The quality of the Trainers

Content of Training

Total

excellent Very good Average

How relevant

were the training

you received to

your work?

Very relevant 9 11 1 21

not relevant 0 0 4 4

Total 9 11 5 25

Researcher, 2015

Using a cross tabulation shown in Table 3 for ADDAX Petroleum shows that out

of the 25 employees used for the study, 21 of the respondent said the trainers

contents of training were relevant to their work and out of the 21 respondents 9

45

of them said the trainers contents was excellent, 11 said very good and 1 said it

was average. While 4 of the employees of the company said the training was not

relevant and that the quality of the trainers contents.

Table 4.4: Cross tabulation on the quality of trainer’s contents and

relevance to the work for COTCO

The quality of the Trainers Content of

Training

Excellent Very good Average Total

How relevant

were the training

you received to

your work?

Very

relevant 10 9 1 20

not

relevant 1 0 4 5

Total 11 9 5 25

Researcher, 2015

And also, that for COTCO shows that out of the 25 employees used for the study

20 of the respondent said the training was relevant to their work and out of the 21

respondents 10 of them said the trainers contents was excellent , 9 said very

good,and 1 said it was average. While 5 of the employees of the company said

the training was not relevant and on their opinion about the quality of the trainer’s

contents 1 of the respondents said it was excellent, while the remaining 4 of the

respondents said that it was average.

Table 4.5: The chi-square test results

Chi-Square Tests

46

company of respondents Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-

sided)

Addax

Petroleum

Pearson Chi-Square 19.048a 2 .000

N of Valid Cases 25

COTCO

Pearson Chi-Square 14.318b 2 .001

N of Valid Cases 25

Researcher, 2015

ADDAX Petroleum

The Chi-square test has a value of 19.048 which shows that there is a positive

relationship between the contents of trainers training and the relevant of it to the

work of the trainee which will bridge the skill gap and it is statistically significant

at 0.05 levels at two tailed-test because the p-value (.000) is less than 0.05.

COTCO

The Chi-square test has a value of 14.318 which shows that there is a relationship

between the contents of trainers training and the relevant of to the work of the

trainee which will reduce the skill gap and it is statistically significant at 0.05

levels at two-tailed test because the p-value (.001) is less than 0.05.

From the above chi-square test for the two companies, it shows that closing the

skill gap of employees in the oil and gas sector depends on training and

development where the content of the training is specific to their post of

responsibility.

4.3 Implication of the results

The main aim of this study was to find out the impact of training and development

on the skill gap of the employees of two major oil companies in Cameroon, from

47

the analysis of the chi-square the null hypothesis was rejected which implies

closing the skill gap of the employees depends on the training and development

of the employees, therefore, this study has answered the question of the skill gap

that exist within workers of corporations.

4.4 Limitation of the study

The study is a comparative study that just from this fact makes the research

difficult, adding to the fact that the companies chosen as case studies are not of

the same line business though they fall under the oil and gas sector. This is

because Addax Petroleum is dealing with extraction of oil and COTCO transports

the oil. Thus, is fact acts as a limitation to the study.

As concerns data collection, it was very difficult to collect data since as the

target population from both companies are those working offshore. Thus,

in this light getting them to answer the questionnaire was a difficult task.

CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.0 Introduction

This chapter presents the summary of the findings, the conclusions, and

recommendations for the two organization and areas of further studies. The

conclusions of this research will be formulated by the literature review as well

48

as the results of the empirical investigation. The recommendations will be made

for the organization, industrial psychologists and further research.

5.1 Summary of Findings

Conclusions will be drawn about skill gap of which to bridge the gap training and

development comes in as a tool for improvement of performance, with specific

reference to the empirical investigation in this study.

5.1.1 Intensity of skill shortage in COTCO and Addax Petroleum

Aim one is to measure the intensity of skill shortage in COTCO and Addax

Petroleum, which was achieved in chapter 4. From the results presented in

figure 4.6, it can be seen that the longevity of service in both companies acts as

a catalyst in measuring the intensity of skill shortage in both companies. This

is because the majority of the respondents from both companies have worked

between 5-9years thus, on this it reduces skill shortage because of their year of

experience in the oil and gas sector. From the findings in Table 4.1, it can be

concluded that in order to address the intensity of skill shortage all the

respondents from both companies have had training in one way or the other and

this to make the employees more productive in their field of experience. From

the findings in figure 4.7, which describes the method in which employees are

chosen for training majority of respondents from both companies said they

were selected unjoining the company and upon supervisor’s recommendation.

Also from figure 4.8, the results Imply that there is no specific schedule for

training from both companies, and this is because training is been organized

when the management discovers that there is need for training. Thus, it is

therefore, evident that the intensity of skill shortage is measured through

training and development.

5.1.2 Strategies used to conduct training and development and its impact on

the shortage of skills.

49

The second objective of this study was to examine training and development

strategies and its contribution towards skill gaps in COTCO and Addax

Petroleum. This is achieved in chapter 4, from the results presented on the type

of training which they received it is implied that most of the training attained

by employees is mostly training in technical production and safety. This is

because they are dealing with major hazard risks that could cause the death of

many offshore workers and even natural destruction of plants through the

release of fire and explosion associated with hydrocarbon releases and loss of

structural integrity and stability. From the results presented in figure 4.9 to

4.14, it can be concluded that strategies used in conducting training and

development have a strong positive result on the impact of the shortage of skills

for both companies. This because with aspects like selection of trainers the

management makes sure that they bring in experience people and also approved

schools who have knowledge in the particular field that employees are to be

trained upon. However in Table 4.2 it can also be concluded that the training

which the employees received have been able to bridge the gap that existed

thus leading to the high productivity of employees.

5.1.3Factors affecting training and development in COTCO and Addax

Petroleum.

The third objective of this study is to identify the factors that affect training and

development in COTCO and Addax Petroleum, and this was achieved in

chapter 4. From the findings got it can be concluded that the factors that affect

training and development in both companies come from the problems the

employees face in regards to training and development. Though they listed a

number of problems, it can be inferred that the major problems that employees

from both companies face are the fact that there is no specific plan for the year

50

allocated for training and thus as a result of this when training comes up the

syllabus are always rushed over because of limited time and also the fact that

budget allocated for training turn to be limited thus affecting the training

programme in this light it is therefore concluded that these two major problems

affect training and development in COTCO and Addax Petroleum. In figure

4.15 the result shows that there will be a need for more training to be organise

since as majority of the respondents from both companies gave a positive

response to the need for more training and it was because it will improve their

productivity. Also, from the findings the employees gave some possible

recommendation on how to improve on training. Thus, if management takes

into consideration the recommendation of employees from both companies

training and development will have a smooth functioning.

5.3 Conclusion

The aim of this research was to investigate the extent to which training and

development in COTCO and Addax Petroleum addresses skill shortage in the

organization. As a result a sample size of 50 with 25 questionnaires for each of

the two companies. It was imperative to find out the strategies used by COTCO

and Addax Petroleum to address skill shortage in their organization. To answer

the research question, the study has its specific objectives to examine training and

development strategies and its contribution towards skill gaps in COTCO and

Addax Petroleum. The results indicated that there is a positive relationship

between training and development and skill shortage in both companies meaning

the null hypothesis is rejected. This research, therefore, has helped to bring forth

some of the aspects on how to go about closing the gap that exist in the oil and

gas sectors of Cameroon.

5.4 Recommendation

It is recommended that the organization continues focusing on the areas in which

it is doing well and find ways to improve on the areas which they are lacking

51

especially when it comes to training by giving employees’ feedback and

encouraging open and honest feedback.

5.3.1 Recommendation for Addax Petroleum

For Addax Petroleum, it is recommended that the management should improve

on their method of choosing trainers for training, this is because most of the

employees do not perceive trainers as people who are experts in their field.

Thus, the company could make sure that they improve their quality of trainers.

Moreover, the management of Addax Petroleum should be able to come out

with a calendar for training that will be respected so that the syllabus will not

be rushed over and also give time for employees to get prepared before the

training.

5.3.2 Recommendation for COTCO

It can be recommended that the management should improve on the location

chosen for training; this is because the location has to reflect the purpose for

which it is meant.

Another recommendation for COTCO is that they should ensure that before an

employee moves to a position that employee must have undergone training in

that area, this is to make the employee be more productive and efficient in his

or her new field of work.

It can also be recommended that the management of COTCO should work on

thebudget allocated for training this is because it is important that the training

budget adequately covers the realistic costs associated with the training

methods the business employs.

It will also be very important for COTCO to assess their training needs before

they begin planning the budget for training this is because the business may

initially need to spend money on discovering or researching which skill deficit

is hindering productivity and performance. Thus, a good training budget is

52

designed to address the real issues by spending money on the actual needs of

the business and its employees.

Another recommendation for COTCO is that E-learning can be a cost-effective

option for them regardingbudget for training this is to reduce costs but making

training more accessible. Thus, a company like COTCO can effectively use e-

learning for mandatory or compliance training.

5.5 Suggestion for Further Research

The study can be conducted on different departments of the organizations that

which department needs more training and development. Study focus on gender

can also provide different results, and one can conduct a study on different types

of training and development programs. In this research I review a lot of materials

related to the variables used in this research and at the end I also proved my

hypotheses. In the light of all this research and all the material which is being

used to conduct this research and all the literature review, it is discovered that

there should be Training and Development in every organization. Although some

disadvantages like it are costly to give training to the employees, the advantages

of Training are much more than its disadvantages that is briefly discussed in this

study. It is therefore recommended that all organizations should provide Training

to their employees. I already have discussed that Training and Development have

advantages not only for employees, but the ultimate benefit is for the organization

itself. If the performance of the employee is not good, it will affect the whole

organization.

53

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Appendices

Appendix 1: questionnaire used for the study

QUESTIONNAIRE TO EMPLOYEES

Dear Respondent,

My name is Mbah Brenda, a Master student at the Pan African Institute For

Development West Africa. I am conducting a study on ‘Bridging Skill gaps in the

Oil and Gas sectors of Cameroon the case of Addax Petroleum’. As a

representative of your company, your views are of importance in my study and I

would appreciate you responding to this questionnaire. This is purely for

academic purpose and your response will be kept confidential and anonymous.

Thank you for your time, co-operation and contribution to my study.

SECTION A; Employee training

Here we want to find out how much training the employee has been exposed

during their stay in the organization.

1 How long have you worked for the organization?...............................

2 Have you had any form of training since you joined the organization?

60

a) Yes b) No

If yes to the question above, please continue with the questions below.

3 How were you selected for training? (Tick all that apply)

a) On joining the company

b) Supervisors recommendation

c) Compulsory for all employees

d) Upon employee request

e) Performance appraisal

f) Don’t know

4 How often are employee trainings organized in your organization?

a) Quarterly

b) Once a year

c) Every two years

d) No specific schedule

SECTION B; Evaluation of training Programs

Here we are interested in what the employee thinks about the training.

5. What type of training did you received? .................................................

……………………………………………………………………………………

6. How effective was the language of instruction in your understanding of the

training modules?

a) Very effective

b) Effective

c) Ineffective

61

d) Very ineffective

7. On a scale of 1-5, where 1- is high impact,2- is impact, 3-average impact, 4-

little impact and 5-no impact, rate the effectiveness of the facilitation

methodsat the training you attended.

1 High impact

2 Impact

3 Average Impact

4 Little Impact

5 No impact

8. On a scale of 1-5 where 1-excellent,2-very good,3-average, 4-poor and 5-very

poor, rate the quality of the following training aspects.

Trainers

Content of

Training

Selection of

trinees

62

9. How relevant were the trainings you received to your work? Tick one

a) very relevant

b) Not relevant

11. In your opinion, has your skills improved due to the training? tick one

a) Yes

b) No

If yes to the question above how is this reflected in your productivity?.............

…………………………………………………………………………………

If Noexplain…………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………..

SECTION C. Factors affecting Training

Here we are interested in the factors that affects training in the organization

12. What problems do you face with regards to training and development within

your organization?............................................................................

………………………………………………………………………………….

13. would you require further training for motivation towards performance

improvement to enable you contribute to increase productivity?

a) Yes

b) No

63

14. Please specify any ways you think training and development in your

organization can be improved…………………………………………………….

SECTION D; Demographics

Here we are interested in finding some personal details about the employees.

15. Gender

a) Female b) Male

16. Age

1) 18 – 25 2) 26 – 35 3) 36 – 45 4) 46 – 55 5) 56 – 59

17. Marital status

1) Single 2) Married 3) Divorced 4) Widowed 5) Separated .

18. Department: ………………………………………………….

19. Rank: …………………………….……………………………

20. Educational background: ………………………………………

Thank you for your response.