September 16, 2011, Calgary, Alberta – Petrofac Training Services, a member of the Petrofac group, and Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) Polytechnic announced today they have entered into a strategic collaboration agreement to explore new opportunities to collaborate and share information and expertise in technical training, workforce development and nationalization programs. The aim will be to provide customers with a new approach to building workforce capability and assuring competence through diagnosis of customer training needs, co-development and collaboration on competency-based learning materials and the delivery of standardized competency frameworks and nationalization programs.

“The development of human resources is one of the biggest challenges oil & gas companies face during a time when experienced workers are retiring and competition for new talent is heating up,” says Paul Groves, managing director of Petrofac Training Services.  “Both SAIT and Petrofac Training Services have more than 30 years of experience developing and delivering competence-based training. By utilizing the resources and expertise within both organizations, we will bring our global capability and deliver it locally using Petrofac Training Services geographic footprint.”

The partnership is a natural step for SAIT, whose corporate training operations have transformed in recent years to focus almost exclusively on the energy sector.

“Workforce development for the oil & gas industry continues to grow and is becoming more complex and challenging,” says SAIT president Irene Lewis. “Through this strategic alliance we can leverage the strengths and capabilities of both Petrofac Training Services and SAIT to deliver increasingly specialized, value-added services to our customers in their backyard.”

SAIT Polytechnic is one of Canada’s most exciting destinations for post-secondary education, offering more than 100 career programs that position people for success in technology, trades and business. A leader in innovation, SAIT also collaborates with industry on applied research and delivers corporate training worldwide. SAIT is a member of Polytechnics Canada and one of Alberta’s Top 50 Employers for 2011.

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