Alsalam works with Boeing to raise management development skills

The workshop – run in conjunction with Boeing – was in Riyadh for the first time. Boeing has been offering its p rogram me m anagers w orkshop regularly at the Boeing Leadership Center in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, for Boeing employees as well as some customers, suppliers and partners but as part of a cooperation plan to aid the development of aerospace management in Saudi Arabia, the company brought the programme to the Kingdom.

T en Alsalam leaders and several Royal Saudi Air Force officers had previously participated in the workshop in the USA and b ased on their positive experiences and a growing interest from others to attend the workshop, Alsalam and Boeing organized a similar session in Riyadh for a wider group of officials representing government, public and private organizations with whom the two companies work.

Participants came from the Royal Saudi Air Force, Royal Saudi Land Forces, Ministry of Defense and Aviation , Offset Program Secretariat , Saudi Arabia Airlines, National Guards, Civil Defense, and King Abdulaziz   City for Science and Technology.

The four-day workshop provided p articipants the opportunity to increase their ability to plan, lead, manage and execute successful programs and included a simulation that applies program management best practices. The workshop was c onducted by 13 Boeing program management subject matter experts. It gave Boeing the chance to share leadership practices with content and dialogue that reflected perspectives from Boeing management, customers and suppliers including Alsalam Aircraft Company.

Boeing has a strong working relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that dates back to 1945 when U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt presented a DC-3 Dakota to King Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia. That was the start of Boeing’s business relations in the Kingdom. Today, Boeing counts Saudi Arabia among its strong customers in the commercial and military fields working with both government and private sectors. Boeing helped in establishing several companies under the Economic Offset Program including Alsalam Aircraft Company, where it holds a major share.

Alsalam Aircraft Company is a joint venture company established in 1988 under the patronage of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense and Civil Aviation Economic Offset Program. Alsalam is an essential contributor to the Kingdom’s strategy to develop self-sufficiency in the field of civil and military aircraft maintenance and modification through technology transfer and development of Saudi nationals. Currently, the company employs more than 3,500 people nationwide engaging in both civil and military programs while maintaining a Nationalization rate of 55%.