Polytechnic graduates excel at GARMCO

Manama : Last year, Bahrain Polytechnic signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Gulf Aluminum Rolling Mill Company (GARMCO). Now, more than 10 graduates from the Polytechnic are currently employees at GARMCO, and students continue to perform their work placement at the aluminum factory.

GARMCO is one of the largest downstream aluminum facilities in the Middle East for rolling, cutting and fabricating aluminum with over 750 employees worldwide which deal with more than 45 countries.

One of the objectives in Bahrain Polytechnic’s strategic plan is to produce work-ready graduates who are in line with the current trends of the labor market, and part of this is achieved by sending final year students to perform their work placement and industry projects in various companies.

Mr. Jean-Baptiste Lucas, Chief Executive Officer of GARMCO, praised the Polytechnic students and graduates, who currently work at several departments across the company.

“What distinguishes Bahrain Polytechnic students from others is the fact that they are work-ready.” said Mr. Lucas. “We are dealing with young people who are very switched on, self-starters, eager to learn, and can adapt to any organization.”

When asked about the various tasks they perform, he added: “[The tasks they perform] cover the full span of the organization. The graduates were involved in the upgrade of some of our key equipments, and we made sure they were involved throughout the analysis and implantation phase.”

The Polytechnic specializes in teaching its students on certain employability skills which they can make use of throughout their career. Mr. Lucas commented: “It is very important. The best knowledge of today will become obsolete in five years. What would never be obsolete are the soft skills, being the ability to present yourself, work as a team and having strong work ethics. These skills are as important as the academic content, and we are getting this from Bahrain Polytechnic graduates.”

Acting CEO of Bahrain Polytechnic, Dr. Mohamed Al Aseeri, commented: “Signing this memorandum of understanding with GARMCO enabled our business and engineering students to work at a very industrious factory, where factors such as time-management, teamwork and problem-solving play a crucial role as an employee.

“We want to familiarize our students with the business environment, so as part of their curriculum involves working or producing a project at a company.

“We are delighted to see our students and graduates excel at renowned companies such as GARMCO, which comes under Bahrain’s 2030 Vision that aims to enhance education in Bahrain. I would like to thank GARMCO for their collaboration with Bahrain Polytechnic and hope we can continue this fruitful relationship.” concluded Dr. Al Aseeri.