23 Apr 2010

LNG project to put various PNG sectors under pressure over skilled labour flow

8:58 am on 23 April 2010

The director of Papua New Guinea's Institute of National Affairs, Paul Barker, says certain sectors could struggle to survive as the massive Liquified Natural Gas project pulls in many skilled workers from different fields.

PNG's Prime Minister this week admitted that the shortage of skilled labour in his country is brought on in part by the LNG project.

Paul Barker claims the project is likely to exacerbate the shortage of skilled labour in key sectors.

"Including organisations like the Works Department and others who are maintaining roads around the country. In the longer term, those people will be sort of released back on to the market again but it's an interim period in which other businesses have to somehow survive and it's difficult obviously to sort of crank up and get the skills back in the market in time period that people would like."

He says that PNG could be forced to rely even more on foreign consultants as technical colleges lose more workers with key technical skills to the LNG project.