Aramco opens drilling academy to train 4,000+ Saudis annually

State-owned Saudi Aramco has launched a new drilling academy that aims to eventually train over 4,000 Saudi nationals a year, the oil giant said in a statement.

The Saudi Arabian Drilling Academy (SADA) was set up following a feasibility study in early 2015 by the Saudi Aramco Drilling and Workover (D&WO) Admin Area, which found that approximately 90,000 Saudis will need to be trained to meet the industry’s growth plans in the kingdom over the next 20 years.

“The best way to meet such a high demand is to act proactively by training Saudi youth to work in the drilling industry,” the statement said, adding that the initiative “will result in a marked increase in Saudization levels in the drilling industry across all technical job ranks.”

Aramco said it had agreed with stakeholders to launch SADA in two phases, making it possible to start training operations as early as the fourth quarter of this year.

SADA’s permanent facility with a capacity of 4,000+ trainees a year will be built over the coming four years, Saudi Aramco said, adding that the academy will temporarily train and graduate hundreds of trainees at a Technical & Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) training center in Abqaiq.

“To that effect, TVTC has recently issued a permanent license for SADA as an independent, not-for-profit entity,” the statement added. 

The academy’s board of trustees will be chaired by Dawood M. Al Dawood, acting vice president of Northern Area Oil Operations and initiator of the SADA concept while at D&WO.

Of 15 board members, three are from Saudi Aramco, one is from the TVTC, and 11 are from among the drilling and workover companies who are stakeholders of SADA.

The programs offered at the academy will include a range of courses offered to drilling companies, as well as programs for high school graduates, junior operators and technicians, the statement said.