03 Aug 2025

Six individuals have graduated from a metal welding short course, courtesy of Botswana Oil Limited and its contractor Efficient Trotech in Francistown, Thursday.

As part of the project’s community development initiatives, Efficient Trotech Company identified and trained six individuals from Francistown in metal welding, consisting of three ladies and three gentlemen, who will be then equipped to establish their own welding businesses to contribute meaningfully to local economic empowerment.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Human Resource and Transformation Manager of Efficient Trotech Company, Mr Vikesh Thulsi, said Over the past months, local communities in Francistown had immersed themselves in one of the most critical sectors of industrial infrastructure, petrochemical bulk storage tanks.

Mr Thulsi described the storage tanks as enormous structures that held more than just refined products, but held the potential to energise economies, support national resilience, and safeguard the future.

He indicated that through the initiative, they equipped the citizens with the knowledge to inspect, maintain, and manage those systems with precision and safety.

“These are not skills that sit quietly on paper, they are hands-on competencies that uphold industry standards, attract investment, and ensure operational integrity at every level,” he explained.

Mr Thulsi further highlighted that giving back to the community enabled the company to leave its footprint for generations still to come.

He commended the trainers, adding that through developing skills in the petrochemical sector of the economy, they had strengthened Botswana’s infrastructure from the ground up.

Mr Rudi Venter, construction manager of Efficient Trotech Company, stated that they initiated the training programme for the six graduates as a way of transferring skills in Botswana, which skills he noted were lacking.

“We found it difficult here as a contractor to find those skills in Francistown or even Botswana. We identified the skills gap and saw it as a great opportunity to offer unemployed individuals the chance to gain skills they can utilise in the future,” he stated.

He said Efficient Trotech provided the equipment and modules necessary for completing the four-weeks course.

He further appreciated that the trainees were assisted by their parents in terms of logistics and meals to attend the course.

In his remarks, the general manager for Botswana Oil Limited commended Efficient Trotech for their gesture of transferring skills within Botswana.

He urged the graduates to utilise the skills they acquired effectively so that they could benefit them in the future.

He also expressed appreciation to the parents of the graduates for their support, leading up to the graduation ceremony.

One of the graduates, 25-year-old Keneilwe Kangakangwane, expressed gratitude towards Trotech Company for providing them with a lifetime opportunity for training in metal welding.

She noted how she never imagined she would acquire a skill in welding, which she considered a commendable gesture.

Efficient Trotech Company is the contractor leading the expansion of Botswana Oil Limited’s Francistown Depot, currently with a storage capacity of 38 million litres and undergoing an additional expansion of 60 million litres. ENDS