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the strategic opportunity of the oil
wealth for the State of Kuwait and
its people, and investment opportunities
beyond being a mere crude
oil well. The vision was for the people
of Kuwait to own the complete
oil economy cycle; from exploration
and drilling to extract oil, until the
petrol pump. Numerous government
and private investments inside and
outside Kuwait were launched, where
Kuwait owned many oil refineries,
fuel distribution networks, petrol
stations, and of course tankers that
carry it from the well to the final consumer.
The company’s founders were also
convinced that all these assets and
capabilities cannot achieve strategic
value without qualified Kuwaitis
who are capable of fully operating
and managing these assets and infrastructure.
This was the driver for
launching several initiatives for training
and competency management.
What are the main segments of
your training and competency
management initiative?
Our training initiative consists of
four main programmes: Scholarships
for Kuwaiti students, the Competency
Management System (MA-
HARAT), Maritime Resource Management
Training, and the Training
Courses. KOTC is the first company
in the Middle East to use a Fleet
Competency Management System
and the only company in the world
Eng. Ali Shihab, Deputy CEO for Fleet
Operations at KOTC
to use the system for Ratings as well
as Officers.
What is the objective of this programme
in developing your staff?
The MAHARAT (Arabic for ‘skills’
and is an acronym for Managing
Assessment, Honouring Achievement
Reliability And Training) system
identifies competency gaps and
training needs. This allows KOTC to
improve the skills, knowledge and
professionalism of our ships’ staff.
The Maharat system has been designed
with a number of objectives.
KOTC is the first company in the
Middle East to implement a Fleet Competency
Management System and the only company
in the world to use the system for Ratings as
well as Officers"
These include ensuring compliance
with top industry standards, TOTS,
SIGTTO and classification; enabling
real-time comparison on employee
performance to help enhance seafarer
skills, thus reducing the risk of
accidents; and increasing productivity
of staff through more focused
training. Maharat has also succeeded
in eliminating the variance in staff’s
skills and knowledge although they
all have the same academic credentials,
thus improving teamwork and
harmony.
What about the Scholarship Programme?
The company decided that it would
be better to invest in Kuwaiti students
after they complete their
school education. I was one of those
students who received a scholarship
and graduated in marine engineering.
This is better than getting graduates
from outside the field and training
them to enter the maritime sector.
KOTC’s scholarship programme
started in 1979. Between 1979 and
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