BrazilSaudi Aramco sets up secondment programs with Accenture, Deloitte and Korn Ferry
Saudi Aramco has signed a memorandum of understanding with Accenture, Deloitte and Korn Ferry, in a groundbreaking upskilling deal that will see leaders and high potential staff seconded to the consulting giants in the coming three-year period.
The partnerships with the three consultancies is part of Saudi Aramco’s mission to offer its talent a great work environment and learning experience. By seconding staff to the world of management consulting, they will be able to “enhance their advisory and managerial capabilities”, said the wold’s largest oil & gas company in a statement.
“At Saudi Aramco, we take pride in our decades-long contribution to the education and training of Saudi citizens. These efforts have unlocked the full potential of our talents through skill-building, knowledge sharing, and hands-on experience – key to building a more diverse, sustainable, and competitive economy,” commented Faisal Al-Hajji, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Saudi Aramco.
“These agreements [with the three consulting firms] underline Aramco’s ongoing commitment to developing its workforce and expanding their perspectives through training opportunities both within and outside the company.”
Working on consulting projects, Saudi Aramco staff will be able to gain key insights and skills, including advisory skills, problem-solving and analytical reasoning capabilities, experience with new and complex challenges within or beyond the oil & gas sector, taking an outside-perspective on solutions, and functional skills in areas such as project management, process improvement, and digital transformation.
Meanwhile, for Saudi Aramco, the strategic benefits of the secondment program include skill development, knowledge transfer, network expansion, employee retention, and cultural shifts.
“The agreements aim to train Saudi Aramco employees through secondment and integration into consulting firms’ projects. They also seek to empower the next generation of innovators, enhance digital skills, and prepare Saudi youth for the future labor market,” Al-Hajji noted.
Secondments in consulting
Such secondment programs are not very common in the world of consulting, especially in the Middle East. Globally, well-known programs include Shell sending people to McKinsey & Company, HSBC and Accenture, Procter & Gamble and Boston Consulting Group, and Vodafone to Bain & Company. In the government sector, ministries and agencies too have such programs (mostly with the Big Four), with the aim to help public servants gain private-sector experience.
The three picks of Saudi Aramco are all leaders in the consulting industry. Accenture and Deloitte are the world’s two largest consulting firms by headcount (note: they both also have other large practices such as technology, audit or outsourcing), and both have a longstanding presence in the Middle East. Korn Ferry meanwhile is a leader in human capital services, providing leadership and HR advisory offerings, as well as executive search.
Notably, all three have a track record of consulting projects with Saudi Aramco, and all three rank as a leading oil & gas consulting firm in Consultancy Middle East’s most recent benchmark.
Competition for the secondment positions will be fierce – Saudi Aramco has around 75,000 people in total, and while no details have been revealed on the number of secondees that will at one stage in the coming three years become an (interim) consultant, such programs are typically reserved for a small group of leaders (like those leading transformation initiatives) and high potential staff.
Training agreement
In addition, Saudi Aramco also signed a cooperation agreement with Numou Education Center to establish the ‘Innovation Oasis’ program in the Eastern Province. This program aims to empower 60,000 beneficiaries by 2027.
“At Saudi Aramco, we are proud of our contribution to the education and training of Saudi citizens, a journey that began decades ago. These efforts have unleashed the potential of our talents by building skills and transferring expertise and knowledge, to foster a more diversified, sustainable, and competitive economy. Therefore, we are keen to collaborate with companies to provide a diverse and renewed set of training and development programs,” Al-Hajji concluded.
Reactions from consulting leaders
Omar Boulos, CEO of Accenture in the Middle East, said: “We are excited to see Accenture and Saudi Aramco embark on a pioneering professional development initiative. This collaboration provides Saudi Aramco employees with a unique opportunity for a secondment to Accenture, aimed at cultivating and enhancing management consulting skills. This signifies a shared commitment to establishing a new level of performance focused on investing in people and their capabilities.”
Deloitte and Korn Ferry have not released statements on the agreement.
