Culture & Education | Sunday 8 March, 2015 4:01 pm |

SABIC and ExxonMobil participated in the first graduation ceremony of the High Institute for Elastomers Industries (HIEI) in Yanbu on March 4. Patronized by Prince Faisal bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Madinah, the ceremony was attended by Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thenayan Al-Saud, Chairman of SABIC’s Board of Directors, Dr. Ali Nasser Al-Ghafis, Governor, Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC), Yousef Al-Benyan, Acting SABIC CEO, and Musaed Al-Saleem, Governor of Yanbu. The HIEI is located in Yanbu, and offers a world-class, full service learning facility complete with state-of-the-art laboratories and advanced learning centers. The mission of the institute is to train Saudi high school graduates to become highly-skilled technicians in Saudi Arabia’s developing rubber conversion industry.

In 2012, SABIC and affiliates of ExxonMobil announced plans to construct a world-scale specialty elastomers facility at the Al-Jubail Petrochemical Company (KEMYA) manufacturing joint venture. Also announced was the establishment of the HIEI, a Product Application Center in Riyadh, and thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) compounding and inventory management facilities in Al-Jubail. These facilities are aligned with the Kingdom’s National Industrial Clusters Development Program to expand and diversify Saudi Arabia’s manufacturing sector.

Under the supervision of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, the HIEI was established in 2012 as a nonprofit institute initiated by TVTC and in cooperation with SABIC and ExxonMobil. The HIEI’s Saudi instructors attended a two-year teaching program at The University of Akron (UA) in Ohio, USA, one of the world’s leading resources for polymer science research. After successfully completing the program, the Saudi instructors returned to the HIEI to deliver a unique two and a half year elastomers program with a mix of theoretical and hands-on training. The program aims to train Saudi technicians for the Kingdom’s developing elastomers conversion industry.

“We are pleased to celebrate with the students of the first graduation class of the HIEI,” said Prince Saud. “The HIEI is a testament of the great care that the Kingdom leadership attaches to the Saudi youth, through providing specialized training institutions, which create job opportunities and practical education namely in technological areas. It will support Saudi nationals to be productive citizens contributing to the Kingdom’s social and economic development.”

Speaking on the occasion, Al-Benyan stressed that SABIC, since its inception, realized the integral relationship with the public sector, local businesses and educational institutions.

“That is especially true in the field of human resources development and technology, two areas whose activities overlap with other industrial and economic sectors,” he said. “SABIC considers TVTC a key partner in our local operations. Collaboration between SABIC and TVTC has resulted in many national accomplishments, such as the Higher Institute for Plastics Fabrication and HIEI.”

SABIC and ExxonMobil’s participation in the formation of the HIEI reflect their commitment to promote growth, innovation and jobs in Saudi Arabia’s downstream industries. The development of the rubber industry will provide new opportunities and markets in the automotive and construction sectors, and support development of the workforce through a vocational training institute.

Philippe Ducom, Chairman of ExxonMobil Saudi Arabia, said, “We congratulate these graduates of the HIEI for their hard work and completing their degrees. This event marks another milestone in ExxonMobil’s long history of investment and partnership in growth opportunities in the Kingdom.”