International Human Resources Development Corporation (IHRDC) has completed the competency assessments of seventy (70) OMV Tunisia trainees who have finished the Foundation Training Stage of IHRDC's Pathways Complete training program. IHRDC, working in collaboration with OMV Tunisia and the Tunisian National Oil Company (ETAP), is delivering an in-country, localized competency based training curriculum that is aligned to international standards of competency developed by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).
"As an organization, OMV Tunisia together with ETAP and with the support of the Tunisian Ministry of Energy and Mines is committed to contributing to the development of the local community and economy. To us, that means not only developing local nationals to work for our organization, but also developing training capacity in the community to help enhance services to other companies and industries. In this project, localization was key, not only to Tunisia, but specifically where OMV will have operations in Gabes and Tatatouine," said Karim Gasmi, South Tunisia Region Manager. "By partnering with IHRDC, we were able to leverage their training curriculum, content and international standards at a comparatively low cost, while delivering the program using local universities and OMV Tunisia staff."
The training curriculum is built around IHRDC's Pathways Complete blended learning program that leverages IHRDC's industry-leading content resources, curriculum design and competency management system. Stage I of this program, Foundation Training, has already been implemented and concluded with the completion of competency assessments for 70 OMV trainees. This initial Stage included 280 hours of instructor led training, e-Learning and mentor workshop assignments, providing OMV's trainees with fundamental knowledge and the opportunity to build hard skills in a workshop setting. By incorporating IHRDC's blended learning program, OMV has been able to keep costs to a fraction of those associated with traditional brick-and-mortar training institutions.
"We see this training program as a major shift in how oil and gas companies can develop a competent national workforce to international standards of performance while leveraging local universities and technical institutes to deliver the curriculum," said Bradford Donohue, Vice President of Competency Management at IHRDC. "OMV Tunisia is making a lasting impact on the local universities by upgrading their workshops with equipment and improving the safety culture of these institutions. In addition, OMV trainees are working toward achieving an internationally recognized Level 2 vocational qualification delivered by the SQA. We are excited to be a part of this program by providing the content, curriculum and competency resources."
The entire training curriculum is aligned to SQA vocational qualifications for the main disciplines, and it is this alignment that enables our trainees to achieve a Level 2 Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) at the end of the program and help drive the overall competence of OMV as an organization. Upon completion of their Stage 1 competency assessments, the 70 trainees will be assigned to one of four functional pathways within Stage II Electrical, Mechanical, Instrumentation and Controls Technician, and Operations. The training to complete Stage II will involve approximately 320 hours of instructor-led training, e-Learning and mentored workshop assignments covering the skills and knowledge required for these specialized job positions, dependent on the track selected.
Pathways are divided into three progressively challenging Stages:
Stage I: Foundation Training provides the background learning required for all new O&M personnel
Stage II: Functional Training Pathways are divided into four paths, one for each functional area
Stage III: Industry Sector Pathways Training provide specific training in each industry sector
IHRDC became an approved SQA center in January 2016 after the completion of a rigorous evaluation by SQA of IHRDC policies and procedures, its competency management system, the competency management staff credentials, and management of assessment processes. IHRDC can now electronically register its clients' candidates who wish to gain an SVQ with SQA. In addition, IHRDC is able to offer ten SVQs plus the assessor and internal verifier qualifications and job competency models for operators and maintenance technicians aligned to SQA standards. The SVQs are recognizable and transferable qualifications that are used widely within the oil and gas industry.
"IHRDC's resources and innovative approach to training has allowed us to create something new in Tunisia. We are making a positive, real impact on the local community while accomplishing our business goals," said Gasmi. "Of course, we are all excited about delivering the international qualifications at the end of the program!"
ABOUT IHRDC:
International Human Resources Development Corporation (www.ihrdc.com) has been a global leader in training and competency management for the oil and gas industry for more than 45 years, offering the best Instructional Programs, e- Learning and Knowledge Solutions, and Competency Management products and services available to the industry today. The company is headquartered in Boston, USA with offices in Houston, London, Amsterdam, Abu Dhabi, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and Lagos.
IHRDC is the proud recipient of the "Petroleum Industry Training Provider of the Year Award" from the Getenergy organization for 2010, 2011, and 2012, the 2014 Best in Class IMA Award, the 2014 Communicator Award, the 2011 Platinum AVA Award, 18 Telly Awards, and the 2003 Corporate Award for Excellence in Distance Learning Programming.
ABOUT OMV AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT:
With Group sales of EUR 23 bn and a workforce of around 24,100 employees in 2015, OMV Aktiengesellschaft is one of Austria's largest listed industrial companies. In Upstream, OMV focuses on three core regions CEE (Romania, Austria), North Sea as well as Middle East and Africa and selected development areas. 2015 daily production stood at approximately 303kboe/d. In Downstream, OMV has an annual refining capacity of 17.8 mn tonnes and approximately 3,800 filling stations in 11 countries as of end of 2015. OMV operates a gas pipeline network in Austria and gas storage facilities in Austria and Germany. In 2015, gas sales volumes amounted to 110 TWh.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160629006400/en/
Contacts:
IHRDC
Kathleen McDonnell, 617-447-2254
kmcdonnell@IHRDC.com