By Steven Ole-Naiko, Managing Director, Workforce Staffing Tanzania

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) projects in East Africa are moving forward again after several years of delays. Now, the focus needs to shift to delivering on time and within budget. Project success will come down to execution, which in turn depends on the availability of skilled and experienced people.

Sustainable growth will require a strong pipeline of local skills, supported by partners who can bring in experienced professionals where gaps still exist and ensure effective skills transfer. Without this, projects risk delays, higher costs, and ongoing reliance on expatriate labour, limiting both delivery and local economic benefit.

A critical skills gap

The abundance of LNG resources across Tanzania, Mozambique and Namibia represents a significant opportunity for East Africa to become an important player in the global energy transition. There are, however, not enough skilled and experienced local professionals to support these projects at scale.

Both operators and governments have invested in training initiatives, including partnerships with universities and vocational institutions. However, there is a lack of mid- to senior-level professionals. The gap is concentrated in highly specialised roles across subsurface, offshore engineering and LNG plant operations, as well as digital and automation functions. These roles require not only technical expertise but also experience across full LNG project cycles, which is still limited in the region.

These skills are essential for keeping projects on schedule, maintaining compliance, and ensuring safe operations. Without them, projects face delays, increased costs, and execution risk. Mobilising this expertise is essential and, in many cases, requires bringing in expatriate professionals to fill immediate gaps. This needs to be paired with structured skills transfer to ensure local capacity is developed for long-term sustainability.

Investing early is key to a sustainable local talent pipeline

As these projects get off the ground, international expertise will be necessary to plug the gaps, but long-term success depends on building a local talent base. This requires early engagement with universities and technical institutions to align training with the specific needs of LNG operations. It also requires vocational programmes to be directly linked to the skills needed on-site.

Practical experience is equally important. Structured apprenticeships and on-the-job training will allow local professionals to gain exposure to LNG projects. Over time, this experience helps them progress into more specialised and leadership roles. There also needs to be a focus on mid-career development. Accelerating local professionals into senior positions is essential to reduce reliance on expatriate labour.

Staffing is central to project delivery

Addressing the skills requirements of these projects requires careful planning and the mobilisation of large numbers of specialised professionals, often to short timelines, under strict regulatory conditions.

This includes meeting local content requirements, managing work permits and aligning with national employment targets. As a result, traditional, reactive recruitment approaches often fall short.

A specialist, turnkey staffing partner with a presence in the region is instrumental in managing this complexity. They have access to global networks of experienced professionals who can be mobilised quickly, as well as a thorough understanding of local regulatory and compliance requirements.

Their role also extends beyond recruitment. They support workforce planning, training, and deployment, helping to build a pipeline that is aligned to project needs over time. This ensures a balance between meeting immediate skills gaps and developing local capability for long-term growth.

LNG projects will ultimately be delivered by people

The development of LNG in East Africa is a significant opportunity, but its success will depend on mobilising the right skills at the right time. LNG projects are delivered by people, not just resources. Skilled and experienced professionals help projects stay on schedule, meet regulatory requirements and operate safely. Without them, projects are more likely to experience delays, cost overruns and compliance risks.

Workforce strategy needs to be a core part of project planning. Specialist staffing partners play a central role in enabling delivery at scale while supporting the development of local capability through structured skills transfer. This helps to build a strong local talent pipeline to meet local content requirements and ensure the long-term economic benefits of these projects are realised within the region.