OREANDA-NEWS. August 15, 2013. For the first time ever, Saudi Aramco sent two competitors to join the KSA national team to compete in WorldSkills Leipzig 2013, raising the total number of participants from Saudi Arabia to four.

At WorldSkills, the best skilled workers from around the globe compete for the world title. The WorldSkills competitions, which are held every other year, are open to competitors up to age 22, and are hosted by a different country each time.

The KSA National Team is coordinated by the Technical and Vocational Training Corp, the member organization of WorldSkills International for Saudi Arabia.

This biannual event, which was held this year in Leipzig, Germany, from July 2-7, saw the gathering of more than 1,000 young competitors from 52 member countries/regions participating in 46 skills and technologies. The week-long competition, which drew more than 200,000 visitors and 1,000 accredited media, featured a televised speech by Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany. The opening ceremony included a Parade of Nations, with Yahya Alyahyawi, an apprentice in electrical installations from Training & Development (T&D) (RT ITC) and Sharif Albusayyis, a young employee of the Aviation Department, proudly displaying the national flag.

In January 2013, the Training and Development (T&D) general manager, Nasser A. Nafisee and his management team approved an initiative to send a competitor in Electrical Installations from T&D and solicited the Aviation Department to select a competitor in aircraft maintenance.

As anticipated, many apprentices and young employees wished to be nominated for WorldSkills 2013, but after careful screening Albusayyis and Alyahyawi were chosen not just on technical ability but also on their ability to endure the stresses of international competition. Experts from Wellness (SAMSO) and the Professional Development Department provided consultations on health and positive thinking to help the competitors remain fit and motivated while adapting to the unfamiliar culture of the host country.

Alyahyawi and Albusayyis acquitted themselves well in the competition, which closely modeled real work situations, and created a new awareness of technical prowess in Saudi Arabia.

“They (the other experts) did not believe that we do high technology and that 90 percent of the aircraft mechanics are Saudi,” said Ibrahim Abaalkhail, an aircraft maintenance expert from the Aviation Department.

A unique aspect of the experience for the Saudi Aramco competitors and experts was a reception ceremony held in their honor on July 15, hosted by the Training Technical Support Department (TTSD) at the Leadership Center in Ras Tanura. Management from T&D and the Aviation Department attended the reception, where the competitors and experts described their experiences of WorldSkills 2013 and suggested ways of achieving more success in subsequent competitions.

“All of us, 46 skills, 52 countries, 1,004 competitors, all under one ceiling, you cannot believe how stressful it was,” said Abaalkhail. “We faced a lot of things from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.”

Ali Khalaf, an expert in electrical installations, said the experience of WorldSkills 2013 has lasting value.

“We gained as Saudi Arabian citizens, but they also gained from us,” he remarked.

The next competition, WorldSkills 2015, will be held in Sao Paolo, Brazil; then in 2017, it will be hosted by Abu Dhabi.

It is hoped that in 2015 and in succeeding years, more apprentices and young employees from Saudi Aramco will again challenge the best in the world at key industrial skills. Competition encourages apprentices to hone and demonstrate the talent and application needed, and it also shows that apprenticeships are leading the way in ensuring that Saudi Aramco has the skills needed in our job market.

Among the organizers for the Saudi Aramco team were Dr. Nasr-Eddine Behilil, team leader; Dr. Andrew W. Batchelor, assistant team leader; Rehman Akhtar, return reception event coordinator; Abdelgayoum H. Elnour, TVTC coordinator; Fatima H. Binsaad, administrative assistant; Mulla M. Omar, aviation coordinator; Paul C. Burgess, Wellness expert; Juergen Venzke, motivation expert; Julian P. Harris, Louis J. De Meo and Rami F. Mustafa, acculturation experts; Amjad A. Hashem and Ali Khalaf, electrical installations experts; Ibrahim A. Abaakhail, aircraft maintenance expert.