Saudi Aramco and partners to form National Power Academy

Saudi Aramco came together with officials from six Saudi and international entities on Dec. 8 to take the first steps in establishing a National Power Academy (NPA).

The academy is an initiative designed to help keep pace with the finest international training standards and provide both public and private sectors with efficient, specialized, and qualified Saudi graduates to work in a rapidly and steadily growing energy sector.

Saudi Aramco signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish the NPA with other founding stakeholders, including the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC), the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), General Electric (GE), and Siemens.

Saudi Aramco agreed with its fellow founding stakeholders to make the NPA a nonprofit, legally independent entity operated and managed by a board of trustees, with a goal of graduating qualified Saudi candidates with the necessary skills to support the national energy sector.

The NPA will provide specialized training programs for the Kingdom’s power sector in electrical/instrumentation and control, mechanical, renewables, nuclear, operations, and manufacturing disciplines.

The initial campus of the NPA will be based in the Eastern Province and will provide three unique and internationally accredited training streams:

• The Core stream, for high school students, will offer diplomas in various power sector trades.
• The Professional stream will offer diplomas for experienced professionals who are seeking to enhance their skill sets in more specialized power sector trades.
• The Short certification courses will cover a wide range of technical and management topics for all professionals working in the power industry.

The NPA will be the first of its kind in the region to offer innovative and up-to-date training programs for emerging sectors such as smart grid, energy efficiency, and renewables. It will offer an industry-led training model, world-class laboratories, real-life training facilities, a multidisciplinary training approach, innovative teaching methodologies and an applied research and development center.