Organizational success through effective training and development
Authors: Khairi Sami 
Published: December 2007

GPIC is a joint-venture company owned by Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to produce Ammonia, Methanol and Urea. The company is certified to the ISO 9001:2000 standard for quality management systems as well as to the ISO 14001 environmental management standard. Having placed great emphasis on the development of its human resources, this paper aims at highlighting the Training protocol in GPIC and the contribution of the training function to the overall success of the company.

Introduction

Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC) was established on the 5th of December 1979 and is jointly owned by the Governments of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Petrochemical Industries Company of Kuwait and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) as equal shareholders.

GPIC's first project was the construction of a petrochemical complex in Sitra on the northeastern coast of the Kingdom. An area of 600,000 square meters of sea was reclaimed for construction of the Ammonia and Methanol units with a daily output of 1,000 tons in addition to the power and utilities units. In 1989 the Ammonia and Methanol plants daily production capacity was increased to 1,200 metric tons each.

On 23rd September 1995, the company signed an agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to build a Urea plant and its associated export facilities. On 3rd March 1998, the Urea plant was commissioned with daily output of 17,000 tons of granular Urea.

Training at GPIC

The success of any organisation depends predominantly on its human resource base. The ultimate objective of GPIC's training thrust is to ensure that not only are employees appropriately skilled for all levels of the organization, but also that they are constantly undergoing career development and enhancement through periodic training programs.

Company's Vision and missionVision: to be the best petrochemical company recognized worldwide as role model of operation.Mission: to provide the world with the best quality petrochemical products, manufactured efficiently and economically, in a safe and eco-friendly environment by a creative and motivated workforce within a learning organization structure.

In line with above articulated company guiding principles, training and career development programs in GPIC have always stressed upon providing an efficient service to all staff, allowing them to thrive and excel, undertake jobs where competency is assured. Creativity, continuous improvement and innovation remain an integral part of training service.

Also, quality consciousness and quality improvement is instilled in all employees. This is achieved by applying the best available technologies and quality improvement tools. Management at all levels implement this policy at all times.

Training Committee - Training Specific Objectives

The Training Committee is chaired by the Deputy General Manager and includes all technical Departments' Managers, the Administration Manager, and the Training Superintendent.

The Training Committee formulated its objectives as follows:To formulate a Bahrainization plan as a GPIC policy.To endorse the recruitment of Bahraini graduate engineers.