The West & Central Africa Regional Director for NickCery Group International Services Plc, says pressure is needed for companies to train their workers. Chris YOK says the billions spent every year as social benefits to injured workers could be used as capital. In this interview with our Douala correspondent Solomon Amabo he speaks of the urgency to regulate the sector. Read on:

Eden: What is your reaction to the recent approval of NickCery Group International Services Plc, as the Centre that would subsequently offer Safety and offshore Survival Training to operational staff of the National Hydrocarbon Corporation, SNH?
Chris YOK: I think after the visit by SNH senior officials to our Training Centre and offices here in  Bali, Douala, they realised that we  have up-to-date material and human resources needed for a successful safety training centre like NickCery.

I am very elated and we do hope to offer them the best Health Safety and trainings on the environment when the time comes. I think our recognition by this gigantic company is testimony of the excellent services we have been offering to our clients over the years. SNH, has been spending billions of CFA francs, training their workers abroad, but NickCery Group, has come as a welcome relief for them.

There are talks that most companies in Cameroon do not train their workers. Given the importance of safety in the life of a company, do you have the impression that if pressure is mounted things might change for the better?
Of course. I want to believe that SNH is well placed to do that since it oversees the activities of oil and gas exploitation companies in Cameroon. SNH should advise, if not force all oil and drilling companies within her jurisdiction to train their workers. This training is to help their workers to attain zero accident objectives.

As concerns the training of other workers who are out of the oil, gas and drilling sectors, I think the Ministry of Labour and Social Security should step in. Cameroon spends billions of Frs. CFA to pay social insurances benefits to blind and disable persons who sustained injuries while on duty. This occurs every year.

I want to believe that there is no company in the country without a budget allocated for safety issues. I learnt that about FCFA 500 million is budgeted. But since both public and private companies know that there is no one to pressurise them, they do not bother about safety matters. The budget is usually spent for other things other than what they were meant for. 

Happiness was mine when I was reliably informed that SNH officials would be subsequently deliberating on the matter. It would subsequently be an obligation that before any oil or drilling company sends workers offshore they should have some basic training on safety. It is therefore important for top officials of every company to take health, Safety and environmental issues seriously. Most American and European companies consider the life of their workers. That is why half of their budget is allocated for safety trainings. 

We understand NickCery Group offers training in Health, Environmental and safety areas. In What domain is your company most competent?
We are excellent in every domain which concerns safety. We offer training on work at height, defensive driving, slinging and lifting, safety at wok amongst others. There are specified trainings for oil, gas and drilling companies. We also have expertise in training in the domains of telecommunication, building, and construction.

It seems your focus is on oil and gas companies only?
NickCery Group is not only dealing with oil companies. The company does all sorts of safety training. We have trained workers in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Congo , Nigeria , Angola , Namibia , etc.... in companies not actually involved in the oil business per se. We have trained close 100 workers of MTN not specifically the drivers but also some managers. The course was on defensive driving. We've done safety for supervisors and managers for Orange Cameroon. We teach these officials how to behave in the face of any accident. We have trained them on work at height.

We have trained Watsilla and Nestle Cameroon. We trained the workers of Nestle in their factory in Bonaberi, Douala on Forklift and Electrical safety. British High Commission workers in Yaoundé were trained on first aid.

What are some of the challenges you face in the course of offering training to the numerous companies who scramble for your services?
As concerns the trouble we might have I don't want to accuse the government. I am simply telling the government to play its role because we spend millions to pay taxes. In return, I believe the State should know how to advice the companies on the importance of training its workers on safety. We have other many difficulties but the government should assume it responsibilities.

Do you have a syndicate of safety training companies in Cameroon that could champion your course?
There is no syndicate that oversees safety training companies in Cameroon. I believe that if we create one this will enable the officials see the need to mount pressure on companies to engage in the training of their workers. But you have to meet the people concerned. It is difficult. There are thousands of them which exist but the government does not know them. Most of them allegedly do not even pay taxes. Believe me, in some of the companies which claim to be offering safety training courses, quotations are not well treated.  In Gabon there are syndicates in almost every sector.  There are lesser accidents than what is obtains in Cameroon.

How old is NickCery what can you say has been its achievements through you as the Director for Central and West Africa?
I am just in this office for 18 months. I have been working for NickCery but out of Cameroon. I would refer you to our website (www.nickcerygroup.com) Last year we trained close to 1.500.000 people. Amongst them there was no incident or accident recorded in the companies in which they work. We were able to have those statistics because there are reports from these companies we train every three months.

What perspectives from NickCery with a series of awards?
The company is planning to put up a big Safety Training Centre in Cameroon that would be doing theories and practical. The cost of that project is 1.5 billion and the centre is under construction on a surface area of about 5 hectares of land. We have awarded the first phase contract to a local company. You know NickCery thinks about locals first. We are expecting the second phase to be handed any time from now.

There will be five training rooms capable of containing 30 to 50 persons in the centre under construction. We are going to equip them with video projectors. NickCery is going to be the first centre in Africa to own a Helicopter Underwater Escape Training Centre. Some time ago, there was a helicopter crash in the UK and the crew sustained no injuries. This was a result of this training.

Where in Cameroon is your Safety Training Center is going to be located?  
That is a good question, but let us wait until when the centre is completed.

What should Cameroonians expect from NickCery Group for Central & West Africa region in particular?
I would say NickCery is an open company to all Cameroonians. The country is bilingual and my priority in this company is to see that Cameroonians who are bilingual no matter from where they come from are employed. My priority is to see that Cameroonians are well trained, to improve health and safety and reduce the likelihood and consequences of major accident in petroleum industries both on and offshore. These are some of the reasons, which made me to convince the management of NickCery Group to put up a Safety Training Center in Cameroon, instead of Southern Africa, precisely in Durban South Africa.

Who is Chris Chimo Yok?
I hail from a village in the South West Region called Mokundange but did all my secondary, high school and my higher educational studies in Anfield Liverpool in England. I developed the love for safety from Child hood. I just wish to say my people have been supportive to me and the company and I simply wish to thank God for everything.