Approximately 33% of Guyanese employed in the country’s oil and gas sector hold professional-level positions, while about 18% work in technical or associate professional roles, according to data from the Local Content Secretariat.
The figures were disclosed to OilNOW by Michael Munroe, Director of the Local Content Secretariat, in a recent exclusive interview. Munroe explained that companies are required to report their workforce composition in employment sub-plans.
“On an annual basis, companies submit their plans, where they report to us via their employment sub-plans the amount of Guyanese that they have within their workforce,” he said. “That aggregate number from all of the submitted plans is what informs the reported number that comes from us.”
According to Munroe, companies generally classify positions into professional, technician, associate professional, and support roles, though classifications may vary across firms. However, he cautioned that the figures should be viewed in context.
“About 33% of that number is in professional-level positions, whereas about 18% are in technician or associate professional-level positions. What might be considered professional in one company might be considered technician or associate professional in another company,” he explained. “We don’t have a preset standard as to how companies classify their employment roles.”
Despite this variability, Munroe said the data show clear trends in the types of professional roles increasingly being filled by Guyanese.
“Based on the aggregate data, what we have seen is an increased level of employment within engineering positions,” he said. “We have also seen trends of increased Guyanese participation in accounting and financing jobs, as well as procurement and supply chain management jobs.”
He said engineering roles currently represent the highest level of Guyanese participation among professional categories.
“Out of the total 6,000 that we would have quoted, about 33% are in professional-level positions, about 16 to 18% are in technician and associate professional roles, and the remaining positions fall within the semi-skilled and unskilled classifications,” he said.
Munroe noted that the commonly cited figure of around 6,000 Guyanese employed in the oil and gas sector could change once companies submit their full 2025 figures.
“At this juncture, it would be difficult for us to provide an updated number,” he said. Companies are slated to submit their second-half year report for 2025 at the end of January 2026.
“Once we receive those submissions and aggregate the data, we’ll be in a better position – within the next month or month and a half – to advise whether there has been an upward trend in local employment,” Munroe added.
