International Corporate Training and Client Development offer organizations, big and small, an all-encompassing approach to the skill development of your local workforce. With our expertise in the technical education realm, we will work with you and your organization to determine the competencies your employees need to bring them to the next level.
For decades, we have provided our expertise and education model to governments and private sector stakeholders to help them develop, or advance their existing workforce. Our training is available through online and blended delivery as well as in Canada and/or in-country as you require. We take a special interest in fast-tracking pragmatic learning and curriculum to ensure employees are able to optimally apply the skills they’ve learned within their positions.
The SAIT Advantage
SAIT has a history of delivering international training to numerous countries. What makes our programs successful is the delivery of applied education that combines formal and hands-on program delivery. In addition, all programs include industry involvement, guidance and standards, relevant up-to-date quality curriculum, and the ability to deliver programs in our state-of-the-art facilities.
What sets SAIT apart from other educational institutions and private training providers, is our proven track record in the delivery of programs and training internationally. We are skillful in consulting and determining the type of workforce training and development your organization needs.
We deliver researched and proven solutions that ensure your employees are equipped with the most up-to-date and relevant information available. And lastly, using a consultative approach, we work diligently with our clients to assess, plan, design, and implement training and monitor success.
Corporate Training
Is your organization located in Canada? We can help you design, deliver, manage and sustain your talent.
Learn moreCapacity Building and Workforce Nationalization
During our program design phase of a project, we work with you to understand the performance gap between your selected employee’s actual proficiency levels in areas such as technical English, academic upgrading, technical skills in many disciplines, and your international organization's competency profile requirements.
We'll use this combined learner and needs analysis for the design of your customized international organization-specific training programs and facility training design. This will ensure we are not only equipping your organization with the most up-to-date skills and knowledge but that it’s done in a way that is suited to your organization and staff.
Our industry-experienced instructors, world-class training facilities, and holistic training approach have made us a leader in capacity building and workforce nationalization training.
Training to Support Workforce Nationalization in Angola
Objective
With plans to expand operations into the resource-rich African country of Angola, multi-national oil-and-gas companies Angola LNG and Esso Exploration Angola (Esso Angola) needed a way to train workers to operate the various pieces of machinery that would be used during production. Both Angola LNG and Esso Angola wanted to nurture positive community relations and hoped to train a localized, Angolan workforce so as to contribute positively to the country’s economy. The companies also wanted a way to train their workforces in not only the mechanical/technical aspects of the job, but also in softer skills such as English-language competency and other skills that would assist employees in establishing strong, healthy futures.
Our Approach
SAIT has over 13 years of experience in workforce nationalization (WFN) training and was able to bring industry-experienced instructors, a customizable training program, and an understanding of cultural relations to the project. Angolan trainees learned about the basics of the oil-and-gas industry, then moved on to the more technical aspects of plant operation and electrical, mechanical, and instrumentation-maintenance training.
SAIT delivered a customized, six-month program in Angolia followed by nine months at SAIT to several intakes over the course of several years. Once successful candidates had undertaken academic foundations and English courses in Angola, they studied and lived in Canada. Not only did they pursue their technical training at SAIT, but they also got to experience life on a Canadian campus, travel, and experience some fun winter sports and activities.
Results
To date, over 400 Angolan students have studied at SAIT. Graduates who are trained to play key roles in the Angolan oil-and-gas sector have returned home with skills and abilities that far surpassed their companies’ technical requirements. Angola LNG’s and Esso Angola’s employees were forever changed by the newly developed, global perspectives they gained through training and living on SAIT’s campus.
Building a Technical Training Institute in Kazakhstan
Objective
With a reputation as a world leader in energy training, the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) has been engaged by a government organization in Kazakhstan since 2012 to help the country open a training facility of its own. Kasipkor Holding – tasked with creating a network of world-class colleges to meet the needs of Kazakhstan’s labour market – contacted SAIT looking for guidance in the development of the Atyrau Oil and Gas Training Centre (APEC Petrotechnic). Officials in Kazakhstan knew the energy industry was the country’s leading economic sector and that well trained workers were – and still are – desperately needed.
Our Approach
Members of SAIT’s Corporate Training Solutions department and MacPhail School of Energy travelled to Kazakhstan to meet with industry representatives and government officials to help Kasipkor determine how APEC could best meet the needs of the country’s labour market. Following an intensive period of research and consultation, SAIT developed an organizational model for the school, helped with instructor development, and guided APEC in establishing facilities with industry-relevant labs and equipment for its students. In addition, the curriculum used at APEC was modelled after several of SAIT’s MacPhail School of Energy programs. Courses include foundational courses in English, math, physics, and chemistry, followed by three different technical-program options: Production Field Operations, Instrumentation Technician, and Petroleum Engineering Technology.
Results
Since APEC was opened in 2013, 99 students have graduated, 625 students currently study there and 300 more will begin this fall. In addition, SAIT instructors have been not only teaching APEC students but have also been “training the trainer” - training and mentoring APEC instructional staff to eventually deliver the programs themselves. The ultimate goal of the SAIT-Kasipkor partnership is for APEC Petrotechnic to independently develop work-ready graduates who have the foundational and technical knowledge required to support Kazakhstan’s energy industry. APEC now has the capacity to develop a more capable, high-quality national workforce that is trained to international standards. Ongoing SAIT audits help APEC towards its goal of being a world-class post-secondary institute.
LNG Operations Technician Training in Australia
Objective
ConocoPhillips, a partner in Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG), had a base of over 80 operations technicians that needed training in a customized operations and maintenance program. This foundational training, specific to liquefied natural gas production, needed to prepare the operations technicians to undertake the next level in their progression training with APLNG, and had to be tailored to their needs and existing skills. APLNG required broad-topic training including the fundamentals of hydrocarbon principles and more specific, company-focused processing skills. Fostering positive community relations and relying on a local trainee base was of particular importance to APLNG. The training was essential for workers who would operate key pieces of equipment within the APLNG plant.
Our Approach
The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) undertook a scoping study mission onsite in Queensland, Australia, which resulted in the design of a customized training solution and a plan to utilize in-country training facilities and equipment that would replicate SAIT’s world-class labs. The customizable training options SAIT offered, along with its history of successful workforce-nationalization projects, appealed to APLNG. As a result, SAIT was selected in November 2012 to provide a thorough training needs assessment. In the end, SAIT deployed six instructors to Gladstone to deliver training in a blended format - both online and in-class. Trainees were able to work with industry-experienced instructors in facilities that closely simulated their work environments, and were supported in each phase of their training, including pre-and post-testing preparation.
Results
In total, SAIT helped develop 86 technicians in foundational operations and maintenance training, followed by APLNG’s vendor-specific, on-the-job competency training. Working with APLNG, SAIT designed a customized training solution – including facilities, instruction and curriculum requirements – which were delivered over the span of 21 weeks. Multiple student intakes took place over the course of 24 months. The credential received – the SAIT-ConocoPhillips LNG Technician Certificate of Achievement – enabled APLNG employees to begin work onsite in Gladstone immediately after completion.