There is a growing need for qualified engineers in the Gulf region, Saudi Aramco's vice-president for the King Abudullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) recently argued.

Ali al-Ajmi said that oil education and training was continuing to develop through partnerships with Saudi universities.

"Saudi Aramco is keen to intensify cooperation with universities within the kingdom for the development of engineering talent and the promotion of knowledge-sharing," said Mr Ajmi.

He noted that the partnerships between Saudi Aramco and the universities extend beyond in-house programmes. Indeed, the company has offered some 88 different research topics to students at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals while the universities have offered oil training courses on behalf of the company.

And the use of competency maps is helping to ensure that young people entering the oil industry get the training they need across different areas, Mr Ajmi added.

Last month, the Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi highlighted the ability of KAUST to attract world-class students and to its new facilities.

Oil & Gas Directory: Training & Development