Raising Upstream Digital Professionals' Competency and Productivity Using Performance-Based Training

Saudi Aramco has established the Upstream Professional Development Center (UPDC) to train its geoscientists and engineers to independently and proficiently conduct a wide range of exploration and production operations and its systems analysts in providing a collaborative environment for executing these operations. Its purpose is not to replace academic institutions but rather to complement them by introducing activity and performance-based training (PBT) programs. The objective is not only to improve the organization‘s overall performance level but to raise the standards of its entire workforce as well. This paper describes how UPDC‘s Upstream Computing job family designs, develops and delivers its courses for recently hired Upstream digital professionals (computer scientists and software engineers). It outlines how to effectively train them to acquire a fundamental understanding of a wide range of oil and gas exploration and production (Upstream) operations and to use this knowledge to support, maintain and develop an equally wide range of software applications used for facilitating everyday Upstream operations. Saudi Aramco‘s systems analysts are loaned by their line organizations to UPDC to design and implement these courses based on their work experiences and best practices. To teach and/or re-enforce technical concepts, and for employees to gain appreciation of these practices, over 50% of class time is devoted to activities, assessments, reviews and discussions. For the advancement of mid-career digital professionals, performance-based curriculums (identified by Saudi Aramco as ―career professional curriculums‖) are also being developed. An overview on how these curriculums are designed based on job outcome requirements will be outlined. UPDC instructors use advanced audiovisual, animation and simulation technologies for effective course delivery and promoting in-class activity participation.