JEDDAH, 11 June 2007 — Saudi trainees received their City and Guilds certificates in Jeddah yesterday after having qualified as teacher trainers and A1 Assessors in the Brighton and Hove City College in the UK. The awards were presented at the Vocational Training Institute in Jeddah yesterday by Ann Smith, principal and chief executive of the 11,000-student UK college.
The recipients, having received the A1 award, are fully qualified as training assessors. “The college has a history in working in the engineering field, electronics in particular, and in the Middle East,” said Smith. “Working internationally is a niche market and it was important to have an understanding of the culture of Saudi Arabia and understanding what people need.”
Bob Tipping, director of international services at the Brighton and Hove City College, said that the awards were delivered to the college last week and it seemed appropriate to present them just ahead of the General Organization for Technical and Vocational Training (GOTEVOT) conference in Jeddah.
The program the students attended is an eight-month program sponsored by GOTEVOT that involves teacher training, the A1 Assessor’s award for competency and work-based training.
“It’s about the staff here in the Kingdom learning about work-based learning and the methodology employed and then assessing the methods utilized,” said Tipping. The returning graduates are qualified to teach and assess trainees at the vocational institute by a respected European standard enabling them to work in the UK and Europe.
The graduating students were the first group that has passed through Brighton and the first to receive their formal qualifications. Over the past 18 months since the project began, others have attended training colleges in Bridgewater, Oxford and Cherwell and Reid Kirk College in Scotland.
“The trainees did incredibly well, though it was something of a shock for them when they started because our methodologies were very different from what they were used to,” said Tipping.
Assistant Director of Student Affairs at the Vocational Institute in Jeddah agreed that the first few months in the UK were a real challenge.
“However, we mixed and worked with many other cultures while we studied and soon got used to disciplines of the course. It was a tremendous experience,” he said.
“With these returning trainers we will be able to graduate from the institute trainees trained and assessed to UK standards,” said Ezzudin Hafez, PR and media manager. “It is a good day for the institute and our students,” he added.
