SPE 145235

The Upstream Professional Development Center (UPDC): The Continuing

Evolution of Upstream Professional Development
Tamir Aggour, Salam Salamy, David G. Kersey, Abdullatif Ghanim, Saudi Aramco

Copyright 2011, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held in Denver, Colorado, USA, 30 October–2 November 2011.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been
reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its
officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to
reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE copyright.

Abstract
This paper presents details of the development and implementation of a new upstream professional development initiative in
Saudi Aramco. In response to quickly changing business and demographic environments, the approach to technical training
has evolved to ensure a competent workforce that can effectively manage the technical challenges faced in exploration and
production operations. The paper presents the business drivers leading to the establishment of a new state-of-the-art training
facility and a new upstream training organization, along with details of the implementation of this new initiative. The result
is a dynamic training organization that is responsive to evolving business needs, and accelerates the development of young
professionals. In addition, experienced engineers and geoscientists benefit from receiving a structured professional
development roadmap that spans their entire careers. By incorporating instructional design concepts, advanced training
technologies and formal competency assurance, the Upstream Professional Development Center provides engaging, effective
and efficient training that accelerates the achievement of competency and improves job performance.

Introduction
The oil and gas industry as a whole is undergoing significant changes and challenges on many fronts. The rapidly changing
demographic of industry professionals has been a hot topic for several years. Companies that were proactive in their
preparations for the “crew change” find themselves positioned to continue successful operations, but they are now faced with
the challenge of developing the “new crew” effectively and efficiently to ensure a smooth transition of personnel with no
disruptions to operations. This requires developing large numbers of inexperienced professionals who have different learning
styles than previous generations. The companies that have not adequately prepared for this challenge now find themselves
scrambling to address it and risk a drop in the efficiency of operations.
Technology advancements such as real-time data acquisition and smart wells are also changing how the business is run,
providing opportunities for enhanced collaborative work leading to optimized decision making but requiring training in the
new ways of doing business. As tools and technologies continue to progress, industry professionals must learn how to
leverage these advancements into improved performance.
In mature producing areas, there is a drive to increase recovery factors using enhanced oil recovery methods, and
technologies related to this effort continue to evolve. Companies dealing with mature but still bountiful reservoirs must
ensure that they have the technical competencies needed to produce as much oil as possible from these resources.
Unconventional resources are quickly becoming an industry-wide topic of interest, with many producing regions that
previously were not pursuing these resources now becoming interested in them. While some companies already have
significant experience and expertise in this area, those that are just now initiating unconventional resource exploration and
production activities must quickly develop the required in-house competencies.
As the quest for acquiring new reserves continues around the world, new frontiers are being targeted. In some cases these
are areas that have previously not been tested industry-wide, and will require a new learning curve and the development of
new tools and technologies. The industry has demonstrated its ability to meet these challenges, with the evolution of shallow
to deep to ultra-deep offshore technology being a prime example. Arctic exploration and production is an example of an
industry-wide new frontier. In other cases, individual companies are venturing out into operational areas that are new to them
but where the technology and know-how exists elsewhere in the industry. Their challenge is to acquire and develop the
internal knowledge base and skills needed to succeed in their endeavors, capitalizing on the lessons learned and best practices
from other industry players.
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Saudi Aramco Challenges and Opportunities

Demographic Challenges
Similar to the rest of the industry, several years ago Saudi Aramco forecasted an aging Upstream workforce with a
significant portion of its experienced professionals scheduled to exit the workforce in the near future. At the same time, the
required overall workforce size was planned to increase to accommodate the forecasted increase in exploration and
production activities. Combined with an industry-wide shortage of experienced manpower availability, there was a need to
take bold measures to avoid having the technical capacity of the company stretched.
To address this issue, the company increased the number of students sponsored to attend international universities,
creating a larger talent pipeline to avoid significant manpower shortages. Students in the fields of petroleum engineering,
geology, geophysics and computer science are provided full sponsorships to attend In-Kingdom and international accredited
universities, entering the Saudi Aramco workforce upon graduation. This aggressive program has resulted in an annual intake
of approximately 200 young professionals for the next several years. With these numbers comes a need to train and develop a
large influx of university graduates into independently contributing professionals as quickly as possible.
Figure 1 shows the demographic distribution for Upstream professionals in Saudi Aramco. The distribution highlights a
dual, urgent professional development need. In addition to training large numbers of young professionals to become
independent contributors, the experience gap between mid-career professionals and highly experienced professionals — who
are expected to leave the workforce in the near future — must be bridged by aggressive training and mentoring, before the
experience and institutional knowledge leaves the company.

Figure 1. Demographic Distribution of Upstream Professionals in Saudi Aramco

In addition to acquiring manpower and developing competencies, in today’s competitive marketplace, it is critical to keep
employees engaged to ensure motivation and increase employee retention. The results of an international benchmark study
(Aberdeen Group, 2006) highlights that the availability of effective training and development opportunities is the most
critical factor influencing employee retention. Thus, effective training will pay a critical role in both developing and retaining
a world class workforce to continue Saudi Aramco’s history of operational excellence (CIPD, 2009).

Operational Challenges and Opportunities

After decades of sustained production, some of Saudi Aramco’s massive reservoirs are moving into more complex
activities and technologies to sustain production, increase recovery factors and benefit from the substantial remaining
reserves. Exploration efforts are reaching into new operating environments such as the Red Sea and deep gas exploration in
the Arabian Gulf, as the company increases its oil and gas resource base. The technologies used during routine operations
continue to evolve, with new tools and advancements appearing at a rapid pace. These factors all require increased training in
technical depth.
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The way that day-to-day business is conducted is also evolving, with an increasing move toward collaborative work
processes. Multidisciplinary asset teams working on projects are able to come up with optimal solutions in an efficient
manner and with a better accounting for risk and uncertainty, providing a distinct advantage over a more sequential
workflow. Technology advancements are also impacting the nature of the business. With the advent of intelligent field
technology, yielding enormous amounts of real-time data that allows critical operational decisions to be made promptly,
engineers and geoscientists are taking multidisciplinary collaboration and joint decision processes to a new level. To
maximize the benefit from these new ways of doing business, professionals will require more training in technical breadth
across other disciplines, as well as training in behavioral competencies such as teamwork and communication skills.

Increased Training Need

The challenges and opportunities discussed above create a need for effective and efficient training programs that can
accommodate a growing overall population. The training must provide the technical depth, technical breadth, and behavioral
skills needed to succeed in a dynamically changing work environment. The Upstream business line of Saudi Aramco, which
includes all exploration and production operations, has responded to this demand by establishing the Upstream Professional
Development Center (UPDC). Saudi Aramco’s experience in preparing the workforce for the future is based on meeting the
Company’s specific needs but this experience can be generalized to other E&P companies as they work to develop their
respective workforces.

Upstream Professional Development Center (UPDC)

The Upstream Professional Development Center (UPDC) represents Saudi Aramco’s proactive response to a quickly and
continuously changing business environment that brings with it unique professional development needs. The UPDC
represents both a training facility and a training organization. The facility is a state-of-the-art center where Upstream
professionals from both the exploration and producing sides of the business receive training that spans their entire careers,
from recently graduated new hires through to senior professionals and technology leaders. As an organization, UPDC
provides career-long professional development roadmaps to accelerate time to competency and guide professionals through
their development, and builds and delivers the actual training activities in the form of formal courses, workshops, seminars
and simulated work experiences.

UPDC – The Training Facility

The training facility was opened at the beginning of 2011, providing a centralized location for conducting training that
can accommodate large numbers of professionals. The center is equipped with numerous technologies designed to enhance
learning, creating an innovative, immersive and integrated learning environment. The UPDC hosts over 250 training events
each year, catering to over 4,500 professionals. The facility is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Upstream Professional Development Center

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Classrooms and Classroom Technology

The UPDC has 18 classrooms with a variety of layouts, capacities and technologies. All classrooms are equipped with
large projection screens that can display multiple sources simultaneously and several classes are equipped with 3D projection
capabilities. Instructor stations allow the facilitator to control the display using an intuitive touch-screen interface. Instructors
are also able to send files or share his/her screen with the participants’ screens, or to project any of the participants’ screens
onto the large screen to share with the rest of the class. The instructor stations are equipped with scanners, printers, and
overhead camera viewers for use during course instruction. The classrooms also have LCD touch screens on the walls,
allowing for increased visibility and interactivity during classes. Depending on the classroom, participants may have fixed
workstations or high-end laptops, along with wireless microphones. All classrooms are equipped to capture video and audio
for simultaneous broadcasting and future reference.
The building has both tiered and flat classrooms. Several of the flat classrooms have reconfigurable seating, allowing
rearrangement for classes that require group work. The capacity of these classrooms ranges from 15 to 30 participants. Two
tiered lecture halls with a seating capacity of 50 are equipped with very large rear projection 3D screens, allowing
participants to experience a variety of immersive visualizations including rock outcrop visits, remote site and facility visits,
and subsurface visualizations. Eight breakout rooms equipped with workstations, projectors and touch screens provide an
opportunity for participants in team-based classes to conduct project work and team meetings in a private setting.

Drilling Simulator
The ground floor of the UPDC houses a state-of-the-art drilling simulator. As seen in Figure 3, the simulator replicates a
real drilling rig environment, allowing drilling personnel to understand the rig’s equipment integration and control, develop
skills, and simulate real work in a safe environment. The two-story high 3D projection system utilizes multiple cinema style
screens to create a realistic, immersive and interactive environment. The simulator replicates a driller’s cabin controls, and
can accommodate a driller, assistant driller, drilling engineer and rig foreman. The simulator also has BOP and choke
consoles, and an elevated viewing gallery allowing other participants to witness the simulation.
Participants can carry out drilling programs including pipe handling, drilling and well control operations. Numerous
scenarios can be developed, exposing drilling professionals to situations that might take years in the field to encounter in a
short time, and allowing them to develop proficiency by repeating tasks and learning from mistakes in a safe environment. In
addition, petrophysicists and production engineers can monitor rig activities relevant to their respective disciplines.

Figure 3. Immersive Drilling Simulator

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Virtual Reality Training System

The ground floor of the UPDC also houses the Virtual Reality Training System (VRTS), a four-sided immersive and
interactive visualization simulator. As seen in Figures 4 and 5, the VRTS provides a completely immersive environment
providing a wide range of learning opportunities. Custom-built applications allow participants to visualize and interact with
numerous environments. The VRTS can be operated in passive mode, where multiple participants all view the same dynamic
simulation, or in active mode where one participant can interact with the simulator, which reacts to his/her movement and
actions. The VRTS can also be opened to be a flat screen, allowing a large audience to view the simulation.

Figure 4. VRTS Immersive Virtual Rock Outcrop

The VRTS can be used to visualize and interact with facilities and remote locations, visit the subsurface, and interact with
various tools. An example application would be a visit to a seismic acquisition operation. A participant would be able to
visualize all the surface components of the job, including the seismic vibrosis truck, the acquisition truck, and all the
receivers. They would be able to activate various operations such as initiating the seismic signals, then visit the subsurface
and observe how the sound waves propagate, reflect and refract through the various rock layers.
The VRTS also provides the opportunity to become immersed within the reservoir. Modeling subsurface phenomena
provides an opportunity to visualize and understand concepts that may otherwise be difficult to grasp. The flow of fluids in a
reservoir can demonstrate the impact of different reservoir properties such as permeability or natural fractures, and can be
used to study the impact of production strategies on phenomena such as water coning.
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Figure 5. VRTS Virtual Facility Visit to Remote Location

UPDC – The Organization

While the training facility provides an excellent venue for cutting-edge training, UPDC as an organization represents a
significant and critical element of the ever-evolving professional development initiative in Saudi Aramco. The UPDC
mission is to ensure a sustainable competent Saudi Aramco Upstream workforce by providing continuous, effective and
efficient professional development for all Upstream professionals. The organization’s vision is to be the industry leader in the
training and development of upstream exploration and producing professionals. The planning stages of the organization
began in 2007, with the initial implementation of the enhanced training programs beginning in 2010.

Centralized Training
Prior to the establishment of UPDC, Upstream training was handled by individual line organizations (Exploration,
Petroleum Engineering and Development, and Drilling and Workover). To establish a consistent approach across all
disciplines, facilitate multidisciplinary training and increase the overall efficiency of planning, administering and tracking
professional development progress across Upstream, the design and administration of all Upstream training is now
centralized under UPDC. This centralization combined with a structural model that integrates line organization
representatives within UPDC provides the necessary line engagement and reduces the administrative burden on the line
organizations.

Guiding Principles
The UPDC was initiated, championed and supported by Upstream’s senior management, who had clear requirements for
the organization tied to current and forecasted future business needs. The requirements, and thus guiding principles of UPDC,
include the following:

• Training must
o Be directly aligned with business needs.
o Adapt to changing business needs.
o Translate to improved job performance.
o Incorporate methods to evaluate success.
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o Be easy for professionals to plan and register.

o Be engaging to participants.
• Management of professional development must not place an excessive time burden on line-organization supervisors.
• Upper management must be able to easily check on the progress of professional development throughout their
respective business lines.

To address these requirements and ensure success, UPDC implemented a structure and methodology that represents a
significant enhancement to Upstream professional development in the company. Alignment with current and future business
needs is achieved by having the line organizations play a significant role in defining the required training and periodically
reviewing and updating requirements. A new approach to planning professional development has been implemented, creating
an explicit and efficient development roadmap that facilitates the planning process for professionals and their supervisors. A
rigorous instructional design approach for developing course content leads to engaging and effective training with
measurable results and a formal evaluation mechanism. Finally, a customized Learning Management System (LMS) serves as
a platform for planning, managing, implementing and tracking professional development.

Curriculum Approach
Similar to the current practice of many other companies in the industry, Saudi Aramco previously utilized competency
maps to define the required knowledge and skills for professionals, and performed an annual gap analysis to determine
ongoing training needs. When this approach was initially implemented, it represented a significant enhancement over prior
approaches. Over time the results of the process were evaluated, and several areas of improvement were identified. This
evaluation, along with a need to handle larger numbers of professionals and have a more dynamic and efficient system, led to
the establishment of an enhanced process for training. By retaining the benefits of having comprehensive listings of
competencies and evolving the system to be more structured, user-friendly and job role specific, a curriculum approach has
emerged.
The UPDC uses a rigorous, data-driven approach to establish curricula for the eight job families that reflect the true
business needs of the company, accelerate the development of new hires, and focus on transference of training to job
performance. One of the most important features of the UPDC approach is the focus on job outcomes, rather than individual
knowledge and skills. This results in performance based training rather than traditional subject matter based training
manifested as a collection of topical courses.
Each job family has a curriculum that is divided into two main phases. The first phase is called the Independent
Contributor Curriculum. As the name implies, this phase is designed develop a university graduate with no work experience
into a young professional who can perform the basic functions of a given job role with minimal supervision. The goal is to
accomplish this in a time period of three to five years depending on the discipline, representing a significant acceleration
compared to an industry average of seven to ten years.
The second phase is called the Career Professional Curriculum, designed to provide development that takes an
independent contributor through the rest of their career, developing the technical expertise and business acumen needed at the
various stages of their career. This is an important feature, as many companies focus more on developing young
professionals, and mid career and senior professionals often are not offered appropriate development opportunities. Thus, the
professional development provides a “hire to retire” progression roadmap for all professionals.
The curricula develop both technical and non-technical skills. Behavioral competencies such as communication,
professionalism, teamwork and leadership skills are covered both as standalone courses and as integrated components of
technical and project-based courses.
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary training also play an important role in the curricula. To prepare professionals to
succeed in today’s work environment, it is important to provide technical breadth as well as depth. The multidisciplinary
training begins at the earliest stages of the independent contributor curriculum, and continues as needed as professionals
progress through their careers.
Figure 6 shows a general structure of the UPDC curricula. A significant feature of the Independent Contributor
Curriculum is the initial training for recent university graduates. The Upstream Professional Onboarding Program (UPOP) is
an eleven-week program attended by all recently graduated Upstream professionals upon joining the company. This
multidisciplinary program gathers young professionals from all eight disciplines, providing an introduction to the technical
exploration and production environment and to the business and interpersonal skills required to be effective and efficient
professionals. Participants engage in a combination of project-based instruction and field-based activities designed to prepare
them for success in the company.
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Figure 6. UPDC Curriculum Structure

Objectives and outcomes of the program include:

• Highlight the importance of safety throughout all operations and the need for assuming personal responsibility for
safety both on the job and at home.
• Emphasize the significance of business ethics and corporate values.
• Familiarize participants with the exploration and production cycle and workflows within Saudi Aramco.
• Expose young professionals to the company’s diverse operations and field operating environments.
• Develop critical professional and non-technical skills.
• Provide an understanding of how participants will contribute to the success of the company.
• Provide an opportunity to interact with young professionals from other disciplines to initiate their internal networking
and prepare them for future multidisciplinary interactions.
• Prepare young professionals for immediate contribution to their line organizations.

The program accelerates the integration of Upstream new hires into the Saudi Aramco corporate and technical culture,
serving as an initial bridge between academia and working as a professional. It provides participants the learning opportunity
to develop lifelong, transferable skills and values and prepares them for professional success (Aggour, 2009).
Upon completion of the UPOP, young professionals will follow a development path that includes technical courses,
structured work assignments and non-technical courses, scheduled as appropriate to align with operational needs. At the
conclusion of the structured Independent Contributor Curriculum, professionals continue their development through the
Career Professional Curriculum, which is a flexible curriculum to account for the diverse training needs of career employees.
The two curriculla are aligned with the strategy of accelerating the development of new hires, while providing career-long
development opportunities that are readily available based on individual career progression paths. As seen in Figure 6, both
phases include interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary courses.

Curriculum Development
The curriculum for each job family is developed by the UPDC Professional Development Advisor (PDA) for that job
family. PDAs play a critical role in the UPDC, effectively ensuring that the line organizations “own” the content of the
training programs (Aggour, 2008). The only way to make sure that technical training adequately addresses the business needs
of a company is by having those who are actually doing and supervising the technical work provide substantial input into the
training programs and endorse the content.
The PDAs represent their respective technical line organizations within UPDC. Each job family has a full time PDA
resident in UPDC, acting as a liaison between operations, training and management. The PDAs are highly experienced
professionals who are widely respected within the company and industry. Their primary responsibility is designing and
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maintaining curricula that accurately reflect the business needs of the line organizations they represent, and updating the
curricula as needed. They interact frequently with other professionals in their job family, as well as with management to
receive feedback and guidance on any future enhancements that may be needed. For example, if management anticipates that
the company will start moving into new operational areas (e.g., deep water exploration), target new types of reservoirs (e.g.,
unconventional resources), or implement new techniques (e.g., enhanced oil recovery), they can share this strategic plan with
the PDAs so they can implement training — to develop the newly needed skills in a timely fashion — so the company has the
required technical capacity when needed. The curricula are also reviewed to ensure that any obsolete components are
removed and updated, to reflect the current technologies, tools, methods or workflows.
The curriculum development process spearheaded by the PDAs involves a series of performance analysis interviews with
key performers in the line organizations covering all of the primary job roles in each discipline. Through this process, the
main job outcomes along with the associated key work processes and tasks are identified. Further analysis identifies the best
methodology to develop professionals who can perform the job roles, resulting in a curriculum structure. Where training
courses are indicated, an analysis is performed to determine whether the courses should be developed internally, sourced
from a vendor, or if existing training (internal or from a vendor) should be adapted to the company’s specific needs.

Benefits of the Curriculum Approach

The curricula provide an explicit development roadmap for all professionals, offering a clear path to developing the
requisite skills for success in the company. Formal courses are complemented by structured work assignments, simulated
work experiences, e-learning, workshops and structured on-the-job mentoring. The structured yet flexible system reduces the
planning and administrative burden on professionals and supervisors, while allowing the flexibility to account for operational
needs and adjust the timing of training as needed. The curricula are dynamic, with a system in place to periodically update the
training to reflect changing business and operational needs.
As described in a previous paper (Aggour, 2008), all of the required competencies are embedded in the curricula, ensuring
that professionals acquire the critical knowledge and skills without requiring them to labor through an accounting of
hundreds of individual competencies. The structured nature of this approach also avoids redundancies in training. Courses are
developed to build on each other and enforce a prerequisite system to ensure that all participants have the necessary
knowledge and skills coming into a course, as having a homogeneous group of participants (i.e., common level of
experience) is critical to the success of any course.

Content Development
The development of internal courses incorporates adult learning theory, with teams of instructional designers, graphic
artists and technical writers collaborating with the company’s Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to build training that is
effective, efficient and customized to Saudi Aramco’s operating environments. Figure 7 shows a “retention funnel,”
indicating that learners’ retention rates are much higher when they have an opportunity to practice skills, compared to
traditional pure lecturing approaches. UPDC courses are designed to be hands-on, with reduced lecturing and numerous
practical applications and simulations that translate directly to the workplace.
As a general guideline, at least 60% of each course should be dedicated to activities, hands-on applications, and
interactive discussions and dialogue. Formal lecturing should be interspersed to provide the background needed to apply the
skills in an informed and effective manner to produce the required job outcomes. Customized technology applications are
also integrated into many courses, allowing participants to quickly perform analyses and learn important concepts. These
applications include custom-built simulators as well as digital platforms that overlie existing production software and allow
participants to quickly perform and view analysis with user friendly controls, while the underlying tool performs the
calculations. Custom-built activities in the immersive simulators described earlier are also integrated into courses where
appropriate.
Each job family has a lead SME in UPDC who is responsible for managing the development of courses in their discipline.
Courses must be developed on schedule and must meet UPDC standards for instructional effectiveness and excellence. In
some cases the UPDC SMEs serve as the primary technical developers and instructors of courses. In other cases they interact
with other experts in the line organizations who develop courses with the support of the instructional experts in UPDC,
making sure that the course development proceeds smoothly.
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Figure 7. Retention Funnel Indicating Preferred Learning Methods

To the extent possible, the company maximizes the utilization of internal instructors, who are familiar with the company’s
operations and can share and transfer their experience to participants. To ensure a quality classroom experience, internal
instructors are trained to be effective facilitators by attending an internally developed train-the-trainer workshop. The internal
instructors include the UPDC PDAs and SMEs, as well as technical experts from within the various line organizations.
In some cases, the curriculum analysis results in a recommendation to use courses from world-renowned, external
instructors. As generic training courses are typically not suitable for use without adapting and customizing them to the
company’s needs, the UPDC SMEs work with vendors to adjust course content as needed and to incorporate Saudi Aramco
data and examples.
To ensure that professionals are achieving the desired competencies and to assess the quality of our courses to identify
areas for improvement, appropriate assessment techniques are used. All formal courses have a pre- and post-course
assessment, providing a measure of the learning that occurred, assurance that the desired skills have been achieved, and a
measure of the performance of the participants (Aggour, 2007). In addition, field-based structured work assignments involve
an evaluation by a mentor, confirming that the participant has mastered the desired skills. Participants have an opportunity to
provide feedback on their learning experience by completing a detailed post-course evaluation, covering course design and
content, instructor effectiveness, and the classroom environment. For specific courses, follow-up surveys are sent to
participants and supervisors, to confirm that the skills taught in courses are being used on the job, and that there has been an
improvement in performance as a result of the training.

Learning Management System

The Learning Management System (LMS) plays a key role in the smooth implementation and tracking of professional
development. The UPDC uses a commercially available system that has been customized to meet its specific needs. Its
features and capabilities include:
- Registration for training by participants (self-registration) or by training coordinators.
- Scheduling of training and classrooms in the building.
- Personalized page with easily readable graphical view of entire development roadmap with completed events marked
for all professionals.
- Electronic versions of training material for distribution to participants.
- Reporting of professional development progress and related statistics to management via customized reports.
- Administration of online pre-course and post-course assessments.
- Automatic updating of training histories in the corporate enterprise system.
The LMS facilitates the successful operation of UPDC while providing professionals the means to assume responsibility
for their own development, and providing management with tools to guide and manage professional development
throughout the Upstream. The system significantly reduces the time and effort required by professionals and management
to accomplish these goals.
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Management Support
Saudi Aramco’s management has demonstrated that its commitment to professional development is serious by taking
action and making investments to develop and maintain a world class competent workforce. Upper management’s support for
UPDC as a concept led to a large investment in the training facility and high-end training technology. This was
complemented by assigning high level professionals from within the company and hiring international experts in training to
establish and operate the organization.
The Professional Development Advisors and Subject Matter Experts are highly experienced professionals with significant
experience in the company and in the industry. Dedicating these high performing technical contributors to UPDC reflects the
view that while this creates a drain on technical resources from the line organizations, the value added by having the
company’s technical experts spearhead professional development efforts is large, resulting in a significant benefit to the
organization.
Many UPDC courses are taught by technical experts from the line organizations. This requires their individual managers
to allow these experts to dedicate some of their valuable time for both course development and delivery. This support is
critical, as having the people who are key performers develop and teach courses leads to relevant and accelerated training.
This high level of involvement and support by management is critical to the success of UPDC, sending a clear message
that professional development contributes greatly to the overall success of the company. UPDC has thus established itself as
an integral component and partner with the technical line organization, rather than an isolated service organization.

UPDC Results, Feedback and Success Factors

The professional development resources offered by UPDC have provided enhanced training to all levels of Upstream
professionals. The UPOP, which has currently accommodated over 300 young professionals, has been received with great
enthusiasm from both participants and management. Feedback from supervisors has indicated that young professionals
returning to the line organization are demonstrating improved performance compared to the equivalent population in the pre-
UPDC era.
The feedback on internally developed courses has been positive, suggesting that the implementation of instructional
design into course development and the focus on outcomes — rather than subject matter — is significantly improving the
quality of training. The comparison of pre-course and post-course assessment results indicates that significant learning is
occurring during courses, with an average increase of around 50% and an average final score above 90%. Mentored work
assignments, especially those conducted in field settings, are accelerating the development of field-based engineers and
geoscientists. Experienced professionals are benefitting from increased training opportunities compared to the past, allowing
them to stay abreast of the latest technical advancements and to continually refine their skills.
As with any organization, especially with a new initiative, there are always areas for improvement. The feedback and
communication mechanisms implemented by UPDC have facilitated the identification of ways to further enhance the training
programs, and the operation of the organization is continually being optimized.
One of the key elements for success is the alignment of training with operational needs. A fundamental principle of
effective training is that the skills developed during training must be applied immediately afterwards to cement the learning
and retention. This “use it or lose it” principle requires close alignment between the line organizations and UPDC to ensure
that training is scheduled at the appropriate time, and that the participants will indeed have a chance to practice and utilize the
skills upon completing the training.
Young professionals are eager to participate in real work; having just completed four to five years of university education,
they do not want to feel that they are back in school. Thus, the objective of accelerating development and frontloading
training early in their careers must be balanced by allowing sufficient time on the job. This is accomplished by ensuring that
the curricula are very efficient, focusing on the critical skills and knowledge needed to perform specific job roles. The content
of the curricula and the courses must also consider the knowledge level of the incoming participants, being careful not to
duplicate and repeat training they have received during their university studies.
Internally developed and taught courses are consistently rated higher than external courses, even when external offerings
are customized with relevant data and examples. This is to be expected, as internal courses integrate Saudi Aramco
workflows and data, are developed using instructional design expertise with a focus on job related outcomes, and have
instructors that can share their internal experience and engage in dialogue with participants that is very relevant to their jobs.
To the extent possible within resource constraints, the curricula should maximize the use of internal courses. The challenge is
to avail the time of the busy technical experts to develop and teach these courses. UPDC is also pursuing a strategy of hiring
technical experts from the industry, giving them an opportunity to work in the line organizations to learn and adapt to the
company’s internal workflows, then having them return to UPDC to develop and teach courses.
It is important that the technical staff in UPDC stays current with the latest technical advancements and the company’s
workflows, tools, technologies and procedures. This is accomplished by implementing rotational assignments whereby
UPDC technical experts join the line organization for a set period of time in exchange for a technical expert from the line
organization rotating into UPDC for an assignment. In addition to accomplishing the desired goal of keeping UPDC experts
technically current, it provides the expert from the line organization an opportunity to develop their understanding of the role
of professional development and to learn the tenets of effective training. This is considered to be a professional development
opportunity, preparing employees for leadership roles where they will be responsible for the development of their staff. In
12 SPE 145235

these situations, it is important for the UPDC instructional staff to effectively on-board the new member of the team, as many
of the tenets of adult learning theory are unfamiliar to technical experts.
Another success factor for UPDC is to maintain extensive and continuous communication with the line organizations. By
understanding business needs and dynamically adapting to changing needs, the training organization establishes itself as an
operational partner that is integrated with the rest of the business, rather than a separate service organization that operates on
a purely client-vendor basis.
The initial efforts of UPDC have been positive, and by addressing the issues discussed above, the organization will
continue to contribute to the professional development needs, and overall success, of Upstream operations.

Summary and Conclusions

The Upstream Professional Development Center was established to address Saudi Aramco’s expanding professional
development needs. The state-of-the-art training facility is complemented by a dedicated training organization focused on
partnering with Upstream operations, to provide professionals in exploration and production with the development needed to
succeed on the job and add value to the company. UPDC has developed career-long development roadmaps and training
content to accelerate the development of young professionals, and to offer continued development for experienced engineers
and geoscientists. These UPDC Best Practices can be of value to Independent, International and National Oil Companies.

The success of this initiative is a result of:

• Strong management support.

• Heavy involvement of technical staff in developing and delivering training.
• Focusing on performance-based training that targets job outcomes rather than subject matter-based training.
• Utilizing instructional systems design for content development.
• Implementing competency assurance through formal assessments.
• A customized Learning Management System to facilitate all professional development operations.
• Continuous communication with the line organizations throughout Upstream.

The UPDC continues Saudi Aramco’s tradition of investing in its people as its most important asset. By continually
assessing its own performance and taking measures to improve, UPDC will continue to add value to the company by
developing and maintaining a competent workforce.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Saudi Aramco for permission to publish this paper. We also express our appreciation to all
the UPDC staff whose hard work has made it a success, and to management for supporting our efforts.

References
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2008.
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Conference and Exhibition, Anaheim, California, U.S.A., November 11–14.
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