Culture & Education | Wednesday 18 October, 2017 7:22 am |

With the 44th WorldSkills Competition kicking off in Abu Dhabi earlier this week, competitors have been using automation technology, advice and practical assistance from Siemens, as the event’s strategic sponsor. Under the banner ‘Discover the amazing Power of Skills’, the event is seeing 1,300 talented young specialists from 60 countries and regions compete for the World Championship title in 51 vocational disciplines.

 

“We have been involved in the vocational World Championships since 2011 within the framework of the “Siemens Automation Cooperates with Education” scheme, and we are proud to be supporting this important competition in the UAE,” said Dietmar Siersdorfer, CEO, Siemens Middle East and UAE. “Vocational training is an important part of our ongoing commitment to support economic diversification in the UAE, enabling knowledge transfer and developing a local technical talent pool.”
 

Participants are being provided with ultra-modern automation products from the Siemens portfolio in the disciplines Industrial Control, Electrical Installations, Polymechanics/Automation, Manufacturing Team Challenge, Industrial Mechanics and Refrigeration/Air Conditioning. The machines supplied for the fields of CNC (computerized numerical control) Milling, CNC Turning and Plastic Die Engineering are also fitted with CNC controls from Siemens. In addition, Siemens experts have made themselves available to assist the young contestants as they prepare for the competition.

 

Saeed Ismael Al Hosani, Site Engineer for Energy Management Division, Siemens Middle East, will also be competing in WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017. Al Hosani was sponsored by Siemens during his studies at Abu Dhabi Vocational Training Institute’s Vocational Education Development Center, and joined Siemens in January 2017. He is competing in the event’s Automotive Technology challenge, saying: “Representing the UAE is a big honor for me. I’m proud to be in the Emirati team and aspire to fly the nation’s flag high in this global competition.”

 

Vocational training, youth development and educational programs are a core part of Siemens’ business to society activities in the Middle East region. More than 150 Emirati students have received training from Siemens, and earlier this year the company announced an in-kind grant of up to EUR100m of Siemens software for UAE universities, to be used for academic and institutional purposes.