A Mentor/Mentee Training Program: A Success Story

Abstract To sustain the energy needs of the world you need people – more specifically specialists – who will carry the ball and push the envelope of technology further. How do you develop young engineers and scientists to become productive specialists? This paper presents a success story of a "Specialist Development Program (SDP)," implemented at Saudi Aramco that can be the basis for others to follow. It highlights the "mentor-mentee" relationship, the bedrock for the hugely successful program1. The program was established several years ago with the objectives of providing qualified Saudi engineers and scientists with an opportunity to become engineering/scientific specialists, and providing the company with high-level technical expertise in the specialties for which the company has a critical need. The program has a structured, streamlined, and phased career path for identified specialties, attracting qualified candidates and matching them with the most appropriate mentors. This strategy ensures candidates obtain the required experience, further education and exposure for their chosen specialty. The program serves as a roadmap for optimizing the professional growth and advancement of candidates. It is also sufficiently flexible to respond to candidates’ training and work requirements, while enabling them to achieve higher levels of competence and productivity. This paper highlights the salient features of the unique and successful development program, focusing on the mentor-mentee relationship. It describes the program, the current specialties, mentee and mentor requirements, roles and responsibilities, criteria for graduation, and tracking.