Saudi Aramco hosts National IT Academy Forum, signs MOUs

Saudi Aramco organized and hosted on Tuesday the National Information Technology Academy’s Executive Forum in Dhahran, which discussed human capital development in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, the state-owned oil giant said in a statement.

The National IT Academy is a non-profit organization established by Aramco, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), and Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC).

During the forum, Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) were signed with key partners to support the National IT Academy, including Saudi Telecom Company, Al Abdulkarim Holding, Cisco Systems, Huawei, HPE, Wipro, and Baker Hughes.

“The National IT Academy aims at equipping Saudi males and females with the required ICT skills through advanced and accelerated training, and certification programs to bridge the skills gap in the market,” said Yousef Al Ulyan, Aramco’s Vice President of Information Technology and chairman of the academy.

Saudis currently make up no more than 40 percent of the total ICT workforce, despite the steady supply of Saudi ICT graduates from vocational institutes and universities in Saudi Arabia and abroad, a fact that presents “great opportunities for skilled and trained Saudis,” he added.