Aground breaking Ceremony towards the building of a facility for the commencement of underwater diving programme and other related courses in RMU was held on Tuesday, 17th December, 2019 at the University Campus. The programme would be the first of its kind in Ghana and West Africa to make accessible an internationally recognized and accredited training in various advanced subsea skills such as underwater welding and others which are critical need areas in Ghana’s Shipping and Oil and Gas Industries and the West African Region as a whole.
This followed a memorandum of understanding signed between RMU and the Global Diving Training Institute (GDTI) of USA in 2018 for the purpose. As part of the agreement, GDTI will set-up adiving center on RMU Campus to train divers who will specialize in the following areas of interest;
- Underwater Cutting and Welding
- Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)
- Salvage Operations
- Nearshore and Deep-sea Diving Operations
- Underwater Video Monitoring and Recording
- Commercial Scuba Diving, e.t.c
Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony, the Vice Chancellor of RMU, Professor Elvis Nyarko, was hopeful that with the state-of-the art equipment and facilities to be provided at the Diving Center, the global recognition of the University as a first class accredited Maritime Training Institution would be enhanced. The centre, he added will further give trainees a competitive edge on the job market.
The Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O) and Chairman of the Board of GDTI, Dr. Enoch Kwadwo Adusei Ofosu, stated that the groundbreaking event marked the start of the construction of phase I of GDTI/ RMU Diving Faculty. This was the first stage of a globally accredited commercial diving training and subsea welding facility being builtin Ghana and the West African Sub region. This centre, he added, would make accessible to countrymen and women in the West African Sub region, a globally recognized and accredited training and also create well paid employment opportunities for prospective graduates.
The Director of Local Content of the Petroleum Commission, Dr. Kwadjo Asirifi Kyei, in his address, expressed admiration for the collaboration between RMU and GDTI and he called on Ghanaians to take advantage of this training facility. He was hopeful that the training center would add to all the efforts by the Government of Ghana for the Acceleration of Oil and Gas Industrialization.
Personalities who graced the occasion included the following: RMU Management and Staff; Directors, Instructors and Staff of GDTI;Director of the Petroleum Commission; Director of Stella Maris and Command Chaplain of Eastern Naval Command; Rev. F. (Lt. (GN)) Sylvanous Dogodzi; Managing Director of Tran-setter Engineering, Human Resource Manager of Sea Weld Engineering, and friends from the media.
Information Source: Marketing Unit
Information Date: 18th December, 2019