OREANDA-NEWS. November 13, 2014. Students from all of the Kingdom’s major cities and remotest villages came to the National Industrial Training Institute (NITI) in al-Hasa, carrying with them their dreams and endless questions.

In the hall packed with promising dreams, Saad Al-Shahrani, NITI project manager, provided new students with confidence and support as he embraced this long-awaited moment. “We have developed a special program to receive 350 new students at NITI,” he said.

Al-Shahrani confirmed that Saudi Aramco’s contribution in the institute came in the context of a long-term strategy designed to train and qualify Saudi manpower for sustaining the development of the national economy.

“The output of this institute will fulfill the needs of the oil and petrochemical industries, as well as other related industries Kingdom-wide,” said Mohammed Al-Omair, chairman of NITI’s Board of Trustees and Saudi Aramco vice president of Pipelines, Distribution and Terminals.

Hamad Al-Marri of Salmaniya in al-Hasa, who got his high school diploma with a cumulative rate of about 93 percent, said that he aspired to join Saudi Aramco through NITI for many reasons, not least of which was a job and career security that can support innovation. “My specialization is operation, a job involving a lot of development, productivity and good benefits. I can learn a lot of new things and work in various cities and sectors,” Al-Marri said.

Mohammed Al-Zamil from Ras Tanura came to join NITI and was accepted as a mechanical technician. Al-Zamil said that he came to NITI to pursue his dream of working in Saudi Aramco. “Although I got accepted by most universities in the Eastern Province, the reputation of this company and its staff made NITI my best choice,” he said.

Mohammed F. Al-Melhem, a young man living in Hofuf, shares the same ambition with Al-Zamil and Al-Marri. The work environment at Saudi Aramco was one of the main reasons he joined NITI’s program. “I’ve invested a lot in myself and developed my English in recent years so that I could join one of the training programs that would qualify me for work in Saudi Aramco. Today, I am about to achieve my great dream,” he said.

Saeed Al-Buwait, coordinator at NITI, said that the large number of the first group of students in attendance demonstrates a commitment on their part and a desire to achieve their ambitions. “I saw them receiving their uniforms one by one, and I could see in their eyes a hope for the future,” he said.