US and Saudi Arabia collaborating to develop highly-skilled, competent and productive technical-vocational workforce

Riyad : A delegation of 20 US trainers will visit Dhahran on Feb. 6-7 to collaborate with the Kingdom in developing a highly-skilled, competent and productive technical and vocational workforce, the US Embassy in Riyadh said on Thursday.

The Vocational and Technical Training Trade Mission is being organized by the US Department of Commerce and the US Consulate in Dhahran, in collaboration with the Asharqia Chamber of Commerce, in direct support of Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020.

The 20 US trainers have proven records of success in diverse industries, including IT, cyber security, energy, construction, hospitality, aviation and health care. They will seek to create capacity-building partnerships by conducting needs assessment and curriculum development, designing and implementing sector-specific technical and vocational training modules, and developing and deploying teacher/instructor training and development modules.

Major Saudi technical and vocational training institutions, state-owned enterprises and education leaders, such as the Saudi Technical and Vocational Training Corp. and Saudi Aramco, have confirmed participation, and will provide vital information on Saudi training plans, policies, funding mechanisms and industry prospects. The event will include presentations, round-table discussions, site visits and one-to-one meetings between prospective US and Saudi partners.

The upcoming mission is the fourth major US undertaking in the past 15 months to support priorities articulated in Vision 2030 and the NTP. Past events include the US Architecture/Engineering Trade Mission on Smart Building Construction and Energy Efficiency to Riyadh and Jeddah (October 2015), the US Health Technologies and Training Trade Mission to Riyadh and Jeddah (April 2016), and the US Safety and Security Trade Mission to Riyadh and Dhahran (November 2016).

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