Monday 3 December 2007

600 Omanis graduate from Bechtel/SA program


On 28 November, Bechtel—the EPCM contractor for the Sohar Aluminium Smelter project—hosted a graduation ceremony for almost 600 of their Omani construction employees. Held at the Mandoos Hall in Sohar, the ceremony recognised Omani employees who had successfully completed Bechtel’s construction training program at the Rusayl Training Institute.

Construction on the Sohar Aluminium Smelter project began in December 2005. Needing a large construction work force and recognising a lack of skilled construction workers in Sohar, Bechtel worked closely with the Ministry of Manpower and smelter owner, Sohar Aluminium Company, to establish a first of its kind construction training program in Sohar. Sel van Niekerk, Bechtel’s training manager, explains, “We worked closely with Sohar Aluminium and the Ministry of Manpower to plan and approve a course structure based on Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) training codes. The purpose of the program was to help provide Bechtel with a trained workforce for the construction phase of the project, and also to establish a core of qualified Omani construction personnel for future projects in the Batinah region.”

The training contract was awarded to Rusayl Institute and classes began at their purpose built facility in June 2006.

Altogether, Bechtel hired 840 trainee employees, including the first ever Omani women construction workers, and trained them as assistant pipe fitters, fabricators, equipment operators, electricians, carpenters, masons, mechanics, riggers and steel fixers. After spending four to six months learning their trades at Rusayl, the project brought the trainees to site for a final month of on-the-job training. All successful graduates of the program—719 in all—were then offered full time employment by Bechtel directly on the project.

“The success of this training program is testament to the close and productive working relationship between Sohar Aluminium, the Ministry and Bechtel,” Mr Tony Kinsman, Chief Executive of Sohar Aluminium said. “Around 200 of these graduates will join Sohar Aluminium as part of its operations team and we look forward to welcoming them to our company, knowing that they have been trained to world class standards.”

The graduation ceremony was hosted by senior Bechtel management and attended by senior representatives from Sohar Aluminium, the Ministry of Manpower, the PEIE and the Sohar Chamber of Commerce, as well as the graduates and family members. During the ceremony, the graduates received their completion certificates from the Rusayl Training Institute. Attested by the Ministry of Manpower, these certificates mean the graduates are trained to worldwide standards and with further work and study can go on to become fully qualified electricians, carpenters and plumbers. The ceremony also included awards for top achieving trainees, as well as an exchange of gifts between the project and the Ministry of Manpower.

As well as meeting their primary goal of training workers to build the smelter, Bechtel is already achieving its further aim of establishing a core of qualified local construction personnel. Nearly 50 former Bechtel employees joined Sohar Aluminium in November to begin training as part of the owner’s operations team. They will be joined by 50 more of their colleagues in December.

“We’re extremely proud of all our Omani trainees and what they have achieved,” Bechtel Project Manager Stacey Barlow told the audience in the Mandoos Hall. “Less than 18 months ago, most of them were unemployed. Now, they have not only helped build the largest single potline in the world, but some have already moved on to long term, sustainable careers with Sohar Aluminium’s operations and maintenance team.”