Skills Training and Performance Management

In 2014, our sister company Snathe was awarded a skills management consultancy contract by Khansaheb Civil Engineering (KCE) to develop a training program for 10,000 workers in Dubai. KCE is the oldest construction company in Dubai specialising in both civils and building projects. It has built several of most of the iconic structures in the country. 

The project was a 3-year multi-faceted training contract. Phase one of the contract included building a state of the art training school for civils, building, interiors and MEP trades.

In phase two, our international team used international testing and evaluation systems and procedures to design bespoke training programs that met KCE’s objectives. Courses were designed for both frontline supervisors and tradesmen.

Over a 3-year period, we assessed and trained over 5000 workers. A standardised testing mechanism allowed the measuring of skills and competencies against nationally acceptable productivity norms. The captured data allowed KCE to restructure their entire workforce into fixed sized gangs made up of skilled workers who as a team could efficiently complete tasks.

The completion of training and restructuring of the workforce according to abilities lead to phase 3 of the contract, which was the most critical part, that investment in training worked and that there was a significant improvement in health and safety, quality and productivity.

The project was a huge success with an overall improvement in productivity of over 30%.  Key factors included:

• Fixed gangs for life ensured teamwork and greater efficiency;
• Fixed gangs’ performance could be individually measured;
• Ability to monitor and check performance of supervisors and workers;
• Easier to forward plan works and incentives accordingly.

As part of the skills management consultancy contract, we designed, built and operated the training facility and developed training manuals based upon the different types of workers employed. From designing job descriptions through to assessing and evaluating worker performance before training and offered after training conceive was provided with detailed data that allowed them to restructure their workforce based upon their competencies and skills.