Dubai, 27 September, 2012: Mark Carne, Executive Vice President for Shell in the Middle East and North Africa, has pointed out that 85% of employees in Shell joint-ventures within the region are national staff, reaffirming the company's long term strategy of optimally developing local capacity.
Carne focused on various ways the industry can contribute to the region's sustained economic growth through local content initiatives such as a GCC wide qualification system for local companies, Industry Training Centers for skills accreditation and promoting Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). On the SME front, he shared the example of Shell Foundation's seed funding to develop Nomou, an SME initiative managed by Grofin to support entrepreneurs in MENA.
"This is a unique initiative because it offers a combination of three ingredients which are critical to SME success: longer term financing, specialized and continuous business skill support and linkages to large supply chains. Shell meanwhile fully recognizes the need to develop local talent, given the distinctive constitution of the regional employment market which has a very high expatriate population. We believe that the employable citizens of all regional countries have a lot to offer in terms of potential, provided they are given the right training, guidance and support," added Carne, who recently was a keynote presenter at the "NOC and Government Summit" in Dubai.
He also pointed out that Shell is now also focused on the supplier and contracting markets where there are many more job opportunities that could be well-suited for national human resources.
Carne stated that the practice of developing local content is new to Iraq and this is where Shell is taking a lead role. Shell recently partnered with the Abu Al Khasib Vocational Training Centre in Basrah to encourage skill development and to benefit the entire industry. The company also supports six other language schools in Basrah where more than 200 illiterate women have signed up to learn to read and write.
In Oman, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), which is partly owned by Shell, in its In-Country Value (ICV) program under the leadership of His Excellency Nasser Khamis Al Jashmi, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Oil and Gas, focuses on the Omanisation of skilled contractor personnel, as well as increasing in-country expenditure on goods and services. Through this initiative PDO, together with its contractor community, created over 4,300 new jobs for Omanis in 2011. About 80% of PDO's full time staff are now Omani, as are 80% of its well engineering contractors.
-Ends-
Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges. Shell companies have operations in more than 90 countries and territories with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects. For further information, visit www.shell.com.
The NOCs and Governments Summit brought together oil and gas industry leaders, governments and regulators to discuss strategies to drive job creation and skills development in the region. Policy makers and senior executives from the oil and gas industry addressed local content, capacity building and the role of industry in encouraging economic growth and development within resource holding nations in the Middle East.
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© Press Release 2012
