PINZ to establish new polytechnic in Saudi Arabia
New Zealand education provider Polytechnics International New Zealand (PINZ) has signed a five-year contract to provide training that will support growth in Saudi Arabia's electricity industry.
A two-year vocational training programme in electricity established by PINZ and SEC which focused on study majors in generation, transmission and distribution at the Saudi Electric Services Polytechnic (SESP) in the Jizan Province community of Baish.
The new institution will be operated by PINZ , providing management, teaching and support staff. This is the first time something like this has been done by New Zealand training providers in Saudi Arabia.
SESP, a new facility in south western Saudi Arabia developed in partnership with SEC and Saudi Arabia's Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC), is one of over 100 new vocationally-focused tertiary institutions being established in Saudi Arabia over the next decade.
Saudi school leavers will be recruited and enrolled into SESP and, after graduation, hired by the Saudi Electricity Company. The Saudi trainees will spend a year studying English language and foundation courses before moving into technical training and development in the second year. They will complete their study with six months on-the-job training before entering the Saudi workforce as qualified technicians with SEC.
Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec) is a major partner in the project - the course being developed for delivery in Saudi Arabia uses Wintec's resources and is being adapted from Wintec's curriculum. PINZ's CEO Hone McGregor says the contract, which he describes as one of the most significant to be won by a New Zealand organisation in the education services sector, builds on an existing relationship between PINZ and TVTC.
PINZ is managing a separate scholarship programme for TVTC which is bringing up to 460 high achieving students from Saudi colleges of technology to study in New Zealand polytechnics. The King Abdullah Scholarship Programme for Technical Trainers (KASPTT) is a key element in TVTC's drive to ensure a pool of internationally qualified staff for its growing number of tertiary institutions. Graduates from this scheme could potentially be future staff at SESP.
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