Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), master developer of major tourism, cultural and residential destinations in Abu Dhabi, recently organised a graduation ceremony for construction workers enrolled in an English Literacy Programme at Saadiyat Construction Village. This is the second round of English classes taught by TDIC staff volunteers which the company has organised since it launched the initiative in 2012, forming part of the company’s continued commitment to social responsibility through enhancing and supporting workers’ wellbeing.

All 30 students who had enrolled in this second English Literacy programme which kicked off in October, achieved success throughout the course and attended the graduation ceremony in the presence of TDIC’s senior management and staff held at the company’s headquarters.

Sultan Al Mahmood, Executive Director of Strategic Performance at TDIC, commented: “These classes were organised as part of our ongoing commitment to encourage a community spirit at Saadiyat Construction Village. We are very proud with all the various activities and programmes running in the village, be it recreational or educational, and we are delighted to be able to enhance the welfare and lifestyle of the construction workers. We are also very proud of our colleagues at TDIC for volunteering their personal time and efforts to this humbling experience.”

Al Mahmood handed the students their certificates while their teachers watched and applauded on the sidelines. It was a very significant moment for everyone to witness, as these workers, who started the course barely speaking any English, were now confidently using the language to thank their teachers and TDIC for their efforts. During the length of the course, the teachers focused on giving the workers the right tools of communication that will be useful to them in their line of work. They heavily dealt with role-playing scenarios and visual aids to better convey meanings to workers.

Saadiyat Construction Village, which TDIC purposely built to house construction workers in 2009, is a high-quality, modern construction community project built to international standards to accommodate a capacity of up to 20,000 people. With its broad range of social, recreational and educational facilities – such as multilingual libraries, computer and Internet access, gymnasiums, and floodlit sporting area with four cricket pitches, basketball court and tennis court – the village has become an exemplifying model in the region. This accommodation facility is intelligently designed to ease the lives of the workers by providing them with barbershops, banking facilities, prayer rooms, spacious dining halls, food outlets and shops with highly affordable goods.

Brookfield Multiplex, renowned for building, engineering, maintaining and operating property and infrastructure assets worldwide over the last 50 years, currently supervises the operations of Saadiyat Construction Village pertaining to the workers’ accommodation, recreational activities, and all other social and leisure events. 

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