RIYADH: Promising Saudi graduates are set to get intensive training in aeronautical engineering under a 10-year agreement signed Wednesday between National Air Services (NAS), a Saudi aviation company, and the German-based Lufthansa Technik. This was announced by Sulaiman Bin Abdullah Al-Hamdan, the chief executive officer of NAS, shortly after the agreement was signed between Ayed Al-Jeaid, the NAS board chairman and August Wilhelm Henningsen, executive board chairman of Lufthansa Technik. The deal between the two companies is to establish aircraft maintenance facilities in Saudi Arabia. “The training program for Saudi graduates is one of the components of the agreement with Lufthansa Technik,” said Al-Hamdan. He did not say how many Saudi graduates will be given this opportunity. However, NAS will establish a cadet program to bring in talented university graduates, offer them work opportunities, and send them to colleges run by Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg and other German cities, he said. After the successful completion of their education in Germany, the Saudi graduates will be offered work in some of the Lufthansa Technik facilities in Germany to gain experience. “In this way we will prepare Saudi graduates fresh from universities in Saudi Arabia to work in the aviation industry,” he said. In addition, some NAS employees will also be sent for training with Lufthansa Technik as part of an exchange program that forms part of the cooperation agreement, he said. The Saudization of the workforce is a long-term goal that cannot be achieved overnight, he said. “The Saudi private sector has to work passionately and patiently to achieve the desired result,” he said, referring to the Saudization drive launched by the Saudi government in 1990. “The primary aim of NAS is to achieve 100 percent safety and to achieve this goal the technical staff recruited should also be highly qualified,” he said. The cooperation agreement with Lufthansa Technik consists of human resource development, aircraft engine maintenance, and supply of spare parts, he said. NAS is looking for premises to build the facilities in different parts of the Kingdom. The facilities will be built over the next three years, he said. Al-Jeaid described the agreement with Lufthansa Technik as a “rare opportunity” to train many young Saudis in a high-tech sector. Henningsen said the NAS management has an ambitious vision and that Lufthansa Technik is confident of the successful implementation of the agreement. “Keeping in mind the growing aviation market in the Gulf region, we are confident of jointly increasing our market share,” he said. The 10-year agreement authorizes NAS Tech to maintain large civil aircraft, including from Airbus, Boeing and Embraer. It also includes the maintenance of business jets such as Gulfstream, Hawker, Falcon and Cessna.
