Zakum Development Company (Zadco), a major Abu Dhabi-based oil company, said it will extend its 3-year agreement with ICDL GCC Foundation, to ensure that its offshore workforce has computer literacy training.

The move broadens the 2006 agreement between Zadco and ICDL GCC Foundation, which established Zadco’s internal IT training centre as an ICDL Approved Training and Testing Centre.

Under the terms of this agreement, the oil company’s new employees are required to obtain the ICDL certification in line with corporate productivity targets. The ICDL GCC Foundation has since been overseeing the delivery quality of the ICDL training and testing; and providing support in the form of courseware and guidance.

“An IT–enabled workforce offers higher productivity levels that provide the desired market edge. Expanding our ICDL program to our offshore operations will enable us to further boost productivity to attain our corporate development goals,” said Juma Al Muhairi, assistant general manager, Zadco.

“The Gulf’s IT infrastructure continues to expand rapidly, so the region’s businesses must train their employees accordingly to take full advantage of information and communication technologies,” added Jamil Ezzo, director general, ICDL GCC Foundation.

Zadco was established in 1977 to develop and operate the Upper Zakum Field, one of the largest oil fields in the world, on behalf of Adnoc and Japan Oil Development Company.

The ECDL/ICDL program recently marked its historic 9 millionth enrollment, over 1 million of which has been jointly contributed by the ICDL GCC Foundation and the Unesco Cairo Office in the development of computer skills in Arab countries.-TradeArabia News Service