The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) and the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) have agreed to jointly recruit and train 5,000 young Saudis from the Jazan Region, according to local media. The joint initiative was officially launched on Sunday in the presence of Jazan Governor Prince Mohamed bin Nasir.

A deal was signed with an alliance of Jazan contractors for undertaking training and recruitment (Mahara) in the framework of this initiative.

The signing ceremony was attended by TVTC Governor Ali Ghafais, Saudi Aramco CEO Khalid Al-Falih and the heads of the eight companies assigned to implement the Jazan refinery project. The Mahara Institute at Haqw in Jazan will undertake the training of the young Saudis for a variety of jobs over a 4-year period.

They will be part of the manpower team that will implement the Jazan oil refinery project. The institute launched this training session with the first group of 500 trainees.

Apart from Saudi Aramco and TVTC, the deal includes eight other contractors who are involved in the implementation of the Jazan refinery and other such projects.

Prince Mohamed bin Nasir lauded Saudi Aramco’s role in supporting the Kingdom’s economy and Jazan Economic City in particular, where the refinery is located.

He also appreciated the implementation of other infrastructural projects and the role of the TVTC in providing training facilities. The TVTC governor said the strategic partnership with Saudi Aramco comes within the framework of its vision to build similar partnerships with local and global business companies for the implementation of training programs for Saudi manpower in different sectors.

Al-Falih said the project conforms with the company’s strategy to build and localize a competitive and viable energy sector that could meet the requirements of the energy industry in the Kingdom and compete with global markets through the provision of quality services and products.