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Education is key to fulfilling the UAE’s growing need for a strong local workforce that will sustain the country’s energy sector, according to experts.
Young ADIPEC, an outreach programme aligned with the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Conference and Exhibition (ADIPEC), will offer students from schools across Abu Dhabi an exciting line-up of events designed to encourage youngsters to choose a career path into the oil and gas industry.
The initiative will provide students from the ages of 14to17with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the energy sector through a series of fun and engaging activities, including site visits and competitions. The programme will host 240 students from Abu Dhabi and the Western Region, a 35 per cent increase from last year.
Such programmes play a critical role in attracting the younger generation to the energy sector and setting up a substantial local talent pool for the future, say experts in the industry.
“ADIPEC welcomes the participation of schools and universities. The next generation of oil and gas professionals will be the result of partnerships between industry and education,” said Mr Ali Khalifa Al Shamsi, ADIPEC 2014 Chairman, and Strategy & Coordination Director at the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).
“Pooling such knowledge and expertise will create a situation that is attractive to talented young engineers, and potential scientists, to our dynamic industry.”
According to figures from the Ministry of Higher Education, only 22 per cent of Emirati men were enrolled in engineering programmes during the 2011-2012 academic year, with a third (33 per cent) enrolled in business programmes. Figures were even lower for Emirati women, with only 11 per cent enrolled into engineering programmes.
“The oil industry is facing talent scarcity globally, and the challenge of finding competent Emirati talent is becoming tougher,” said Sultan Al Hajji, Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer, Total E&P United Arab Emirates.
“We should make the energy sector an attractive career path for students today so that they select their education stream accordingly. We should also ensure that Emiratis get the latest world-class practical industrial knowledge and experience through collaboration with international oil companies.”
“Nurturing home-grown talent is crucial for two important reasons,” said Ibrahim Al-Alawi, Deputy CEO, Al Mansoori Specialized Engineering.
“First, this talent pool has a strong network of contacts and also an understanding of the cultural context that expatriates may not always offer. Second, tapping into the local workforce is sustainable – the professional environment in this region is very transient and expatriates may often leave the country to go home or seek other opportunities, whereas UAE Nationals are more likely to stay in their home country.”
The first phase of the Young ADIPEC programme involves taking students on trips to oil field sites belonging to leading oil and gas companies, including ADNOC, Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO), Al Mansoori Specialized Engineering, National Petroleum Construction Company, Al Mazroui Engineering, Total, Schlumberger, and Weatherford Students will witness and experience different aspects of the industry, including technology centres, production plants, oil wells, and refineries.
“We are very pleased that students will visit the Total Lubricants blending plant in the UAE, the group’s second largest blending plant with an annual production capacity of 200,000 metric tonnes of lubricants and greases,” said David Kalife, Managing Director, Total Marketing Middle East.
“Students will have an exciting experience visiting a highly automated industrial unit that is complete with facilities for receiving base oil from ships, blending, and filling, all built according to the latest technological and environmental standards.”
Mr Al Alawi of Al Mansoori Specialized Engineering said: “As one of the oldest local oil service companies in the UAE, we have chosen to support Young ADIPEC to raise awareness among the next generation of engineers about their career options in the oil and gas industry.”
“We will be inviting students to visit our operations base in Mussaffah to truly get an understanding of what happens in the field, from the equipment being used to witnessing the engineers in action. Although students may study engineering, they don’t often to get to experience the reality for themselves, and we are very excited to present them with this opportunity.”
The industrial visits and experiences of students will be recorded onsite in the form of video diaries, which will be displayed on an interactive photo wall at the Young ADIPEC stand during the show.
Students can also express their interest by participating in a photo competition, sponsored by Total and under the theme “Abu Dhabi Architecture,” in which youngsters will be asked to uncover the splendor of the emirate by capturing beautiful rural or urban city scenes, landscapes, or landmarks, on camera. The competition is open to all students from the ages of 11 to 18 across the UAE and is split into four categories: boys 11-14 and 15-18, and girls 11-14 and 15-18.
Students wishing to participate should submit their photos to youngadipec@dmgeventsme.com before Friday, October 31. Judging will take place on November 6, and the 3 shortlisted entries from each age group will be displayed onsite at the Young ADIPEC stand and on social media. Winners and runners up will collect their prizes on November 12 at 4pm at the photography competition zone.
“Such opportunities give students a chance to lead by example, show what they are capable of, and set themselves apart from the rest”, says Mariam Al Hendi, Young ADIPEC Ambassador and Mechanical Engineer at GASCO.
“My word of advice to young and aspiring engineers is to let their charisma and personalities shine through everything that they do,” Ms Al Hendi said.
“Yes, experience is important and there are many excellent, sound engineers with rock-solid technical knowledge, but how many of those engineers can truly lead? Be a leader with actions that resonate, not just within the industry, but throughout your country.”
A host of otherengaging and experiential activities will be taking place at the Young ADIPEC stand during the show. These includean Energy Quiz game, sponsored by Total, in which studentstest their knowledge about energy,a show and tell stories zone, where students can attend interactive and engaging discussions supported by live demonstrations covering different aspects of the oil and gas industry, and a treasure hunt that will require students to successfully complete a series of industry-related tasks.
The Young ADIPEC Edutainment Zone will have a dedicatedareafor the Petroleum Institute, where students can carry out live experiments and discusscourse options.
The sponsors of Young ADIPEC are ADNOC, Total, Partex, Petrofac, Halliburton, Weatherford and Al Mazroui Engineering.
For more information on Young ADIPEC, please visit the ADIPEC website at www.adipec.com.
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