Dubai Industrial City has set up the Dubai Industrial Academy (DIA), a dedicated vocational training centre that will focus on providing a wide range of training solutions to serve the growing needs of the industrial sector in the UAE and the region.

The DIA, set up in partnership with the UK-based TTE Technical Training Centre, will offer 199 short-term courses and provide both class-room teaching and hands-on practical skills training. The curriculum will include courses such as industrial areas, oil and gas, mechanical engineering, quality, health, safety and the environment (QHSE), electrical and power engineering, instrumentation, chemical process and laboratory operations, construction, and technical and supervisory development.
All courses offered will primarily serve six major industrial sectors – food and beverage, base metals, mineral products, chemicals, transport equipment and parts and machinery and mechanical equipment – the same zones that DI focuses on.
Rashid Al Ansari, CEO of DI City, which operates under the umbrella of Tatweer, said the new facility would help provide a continuous pipeline of technically qualified people to the industrial sector as well as upgrade the skills of the workforce in DI City and beyond.
“Vocational training is a vital aspect of industrial development and this is a client and industry-focused and specialised service that we are offering across the UAE. This distinguishes us in the market as we work towards raising the skills and competence level of people working in the industrial sector, especially in areas of QHSE,” Al Ansari said.
The academy will offer a wide range of courses that meet the needs of the various industrial sectors that are presented across the UAE. The final aim, said Al Ansari, was to develop an “inclusive approach” to industrial training. The academy offers a mix of class-room teaching and primarily hands-on practical skills training in a dedicated training centre located at the headquarters of Dubai Industrial City.
Al Ansari said that TTE would bring in its extensive international experience in industrial vocational training as well as in training consultancy services, both of which are much-needed in the UAE market.
“Industrial consultancy in fields such as competency systems and safe systems of work complements the vocational training we provide and offers companies a wider training option that covers the spectrum of issues that are relevant to their daily operations,” he commented.
Keith Hunter, managing director of TTE, remarked: “This is a prestigious and vital project for the development of Dubai and the industrial sector in the region.”