JEDDAH, 29 March 2006 — The British Council is organizing a Gulf industrial training program, for the first time on a regional level, according to Anthony Calderbank, assistant director of the British Council in Alkhobar.
The venture aims to train an experienced vocational trainer from each of the Gulf states in British vocational-training practices, he noted.
“Graduates of the program would pass what they have learned to their colleges and students,” said Calderbank.
The group began its course yesterday at Dudley College of Technology in the United Kingdom, he said.
The project will provide an excellent opportunity for the sharing of training expertise and will further the British Council’s goal of promoting mutual understanding between different nations, he said.
The eight-week course will allow the trainers to gain greater understanding of the UK vocational training and assessment model, ensure the participants experience a range of current training methodologies and learning styles.
In addition to classroom-based studies, participants would be allocated a mentor to facilitate their understanding of British industrial practices and ensure they gain experience of training and assessment in local companies, he noted.
During their time in the UK, trainers would also observe the teaching and assessing of British apprentices in the workplace, he said.
The Saudi representative on the program is Mohammed Al-Asiri, chairman of the Mechanical Technology Department at the Jeddah Technical College.
The British Council hopes this program would be a fruitful venture, assisting educational and vocational cooperation throughout the region and further consolidating the strong ties between the UK and the Gulf states, he said.
The British Council, he said, is aiming for a number of courses throughout this year, including an occupational-skills standards program, which would be staged in Riyadh.
Many professionals from the GCC would attend the program, which is in collaboration with the General Organization for Technical Education and Vocational Training, he noted.
