Saudi-Arabien: Lösungen für Personalentwicklung aus einer Hand

One stop solutions for governments, enterprises and educational institutions to overcome the challenges in skill development.

While in Germany it is regarded as self-evident – to have a functioning, modern vocational training system for the qualification of skilled workers – in other countries this is often not available. Especially in emerging markets bottlenecks in the vocational education and training system are a barrier to development for companies and entire regions. On one side companies often face great difficulties in identifying appropriate employees with the right skill sets and on the other side it is crucial for governments to further develop the educational landscape. While enterprises often have difficulties to evaluate the validity and appropriateness of certificates it is a challenge for educational institutes to modernize curricula which meet industrial requirements and lead to direct employment.

In this regard, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a special case in its own. Since a couple of years the country is carrying out one of the largest reforms and educational infrastructure projects of technical and vocational education in the world. With plans to increase capacity of the vocational training system from approximately 100,000 seats in 2012 to 400,000 seats in 2024 the country is implementing numerous projects to increase capacity on one side while quality is simultaneously being improved across the system on the other side.

This is precisely where TÜV Rheinland Arabia sets in with its "One-Stop Solutions for Qualification and Training". The services of the TUV Rheinland education experts range from single projects, such as the modernization of technical curricula or the qualification of master trainers up to complete solution packages.

Such a comprehensive solution is being implemented at the National Industrial Training Institute (NITI) since 2015. NITI is an independent, not-for-profit training institution, and a result of a strategic partnership between Saudi Aramco (SA) and the Technical & Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC). NITI has chosen TÜV Rheinland Arabia as its international training partner for providing job skills training. In this role TUV Rheinland is responsible for the implementation of the technical apprenticeship programs applying Saudi Aramco curriculum and utilizing world class NITI workshop equipment.

NITI is located in Al-Hasa, Eastern Province, and intends to train and qualify young Saudis in order to meet the market and industry needs, support community growth, help reduce unemployment and support the Kingdom’s Saudization efforts. NITI is targeting high school graduates (APNE) and vocational college graduates (VCGNE) to qualify them to work mainly in the Oil and Gas, petrochemical industries as well as in other energy sectors. NITI graduates are skilled in their disciplines, proficient in English, adept in computers & technology and armed with safety awareness, values, discipline and the desired work ethics.

At NITI, TÜV Rheinland is implementing one year full time technical apprenticeship programs as well as certification and assessment services for major national companies like Saudi Aramco, Saudi Electricity Company, Sadara and so on covering Electrical, Mechanical, Instrumentation, Metal, Welding, Pipefitting and other disciplines.

Beside the fact, that the respective curricula have been further modernized and expanded, a number of specialized courses in professional further development have been introduced to the industry, ranging from truck driver safety to the safe operations of over-head cranes.

Competence assessment as basis for new training plans and practical delivery

In all new projects, the TÜV Rheinland training experts first analyze the needs of the respective companies and assess individual competencies. What are the professional skills an employee should have? We then take appropriate curricula and advice on the necessary technical equipment to guarantee a practical and professional training. Where necessary, TÜV Rheinland experts are also prepared to implement full scale projects. In addition to curriculum development and the delivery of long and short term trainings, it includes the entire scope of day to day operations at a training center. This ranges from housekeeping service, center administration and IT to complete equipment planning and training delivery.

Independent of the exact learning program, the individual learning progress is continuously assessed and evaluated. This effort is worth-while, it lures the certificate "TÜV Rheinland-certified qualification".

Whether it is used by companies as a neutral assessment of the competence of its employees and contractors or by trainees to proof their individual skills, personal certification is proof of a successfully passed independent test and is of a huge advantage. The certificate provides a neutral proof that employees or contractors are competent in their field of expertise and meet an industry-recognized competence standard. This is regarded as evidence of employability and is particularly beneficial in those regions who do not have a fully developed system of vocational training yet.

As an international training and education partner with a presence in Saudi Arabia since more than 10 years our solutions reflect an intimate understanding of the needs of different industries, trade and commerce in Saudi Arabia.

TÜV Rheinland Arabia LLC is currently operating at five locations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is offering the full spectrum of inspection and certification services for the industry as well as a broad scope of services in workforce development like:

• Skill training - Broad scope of vocational training programs
• Professional training programs: Health, Safety and Environment (HSE), Driving Safety, Engineering and so on
• Personnel certification and Skill assessment
• Definition of Qualification and Assessment Standards
• Curriculum Development
• Educational Consulting: Planning and setting up modern learning environments and operational procedures