Aramco recognized for developing technical experts

Aramco has been awarded the 2020 People Management Award in the category of Best Learning and Development Program for its Technical Services’ Advanced Professional Development Program (APDP) as part of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) annual People Management Awards. 

CIPD’s annual People Management Awards are among the most prestigious awards in these fields, showcasing excellence in more than 15 categories and honoring an array of initiatives from apprenticeship development to diversity programs.

Developing expertise

Aramco’s APDP, which earned top honors in the Learning and Development Program category, strives to develop technical subject matter experts in critical strategic, leadership, and technical domain-specific skills. It prepares senior technical professionals to lead complex interventions on corporate issues such as environmental sustainability, cybersecurity, corrosion, and operations challenges, as well as to respond effectively to urgent technical challenges. 

Ahmad A. Al-Sa’adi, senior vice president of Technical Services and the APDP Board chairman, said the program plays a crucial role in helping us respond to a rapidly changing business environment. 

We are growing in chemicals, green energy, nonmetallic applications, and many other cutting-edge fields.
— Ahmad A. Al-Sa’adi

“APDP enables us to become a powerhouse capable of leading an organization into a fast-moving, digitally transformed business landscape. A few years ago, we anticipated the need to rapidly build core technical competencies that are now a backbone of the services we provide across Aramco.

“We must continuously reevaluate our technical skills inventory to identify the gaps between what’s needed and what we have,” Al-Sa’adi added. “A program like APDP allows us to see how strong we are technically and where the gaps are. Gaps will always be there, because new technologies will keep emerging. The measure of how good we are will not be whether we are successful in diminishing the gap. Success will be measured in terms of how adaptable we are to changes in the business environment, and how quickly we reskill, upskill, and deploy employees throughout the company. The resulting agility and adaptability will become the key enabler to business success.”

A complement to other efforts

The APDP complements and continues the Specialist Development Program (SDP) career development path. While the SDP provides a road map for early career professionals to attain specialization, the APDP provides a road map for technical specialists to attain the strategic mindset and skillset of a principal professional, the pinnacle job role for senior technical specialists. APDP participants are required to actively contribute to professional societies and technical conferences, publish articles in technical papers, and earn patents for technologies that address the company’s technical challenges. The program also develops a senior professional’s toolkit in executive communication, team leadership, crisis management, and systems thinking.  

The APDP Board plays an important governance role in the program and is responsible for reviewing participant progress, validating technical contributions, and approving graduate applications. 

Fahad A. Aldossary, division head of the Technical Services Professional Academy (TSPA) and administrator of the Professional Development Program, commented.

TSPA is proud to work with our business partners throughout the company to ensure this program remains impactful, relevant, and rewarding for our senior technical professionals. This program better positions them to deliver on the company and country’s strategic vision. It’s a true win-win.
— Fahad A. Aldossary

Abdullah M. Rumaih, a principal professional in the Consulting Services Department, said, “Participation in the APDP has made me keenly aware of what it means to be a strategic leader and the accountability associated with these roles. I deeply appreciate the investment the company has made in my development, and I am committed to making sure this investment pays off. Our goal as participants in the APDP is to build a stronger, more robust Aramco, for our country and for our children.”