Recruitment added to all-in deal

Walvis Bay-based Manica Group has added specialised recruitment to its list of services in order to meet the needs of companies exploring for gas and oil offshore. It falls within a new Manica Oil and Gas division, which has been strengthened in order to support the petrochemical industry. The “immense logistics” behind the oil and gas industry is mostly hidden from view, and includes the movement of large numbers of specialised personnel to and from the drilling platforms, as well as shore-based support, says Nolito Marques, communications coordinator for the Manica Group Namibia. Manica decided to use its inhouse human resources capability to support its clients because there was no suitable recruitment agency in the port. Finding staff to work on rigs poses a number of challenges. “One of the strangest requirements was that the workers had to be able to jump out of helicopters – and this was a requirement for cleaners. We ended up recruiting two young men,” he says. The arrival of the rigs has also introduced a new lexicon to the human resources profession in Walvis Bay – jobs such as roughneck, roustabout, toolpusher and derrickhand were previously unknown. These are in addition to shuttling other crew such as doctors, engineers and welders required by the rigs. Manica also arranges the work permits of foreign specialists. “We operate our own shuttle service to and from the airport,” he says.