Solid Rock Life and Business Services’ six years working with ECITB Global has been recognised on the international stage at the 13th annual Engineering Construction Industry (ECI) Training and Development Awards, held at Glaziers Hall in London.
The global management consultancy and capacity-building organisation was named East Africa and Rest of World Regional Winner in the International Training Organisation of the Year category at a prestigious ceremony to honour the very best of engineering construction talent in Great Britain and globally.
The event, organised by the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB), brought together industry leaders, as well as the rising stars of tomorrow, for a celebration of excellence in training and development in the ECI.
The International Training Provider of the Year award acknowledges and celebrates excellence in the delivery of ECITB-approved training, products and services in key ECI skills and health and safety programmes by an ECITB Global licensed provider.
Pride at award win for Solid Rock
Solid Rock Life and Business was handed the regional title at the ceremony (pictured) by award category sponsor, KBR, for its work in Uganda and across East Africa.
It has provided ECITB vocational training and technical testing in Uganda since 2019 in electrical installation and maintenance, welding, rigging, scaffolding, pipefitting, steel erecting, while also delivering ECITB Global’s International Health and Safety Passport.
In particular, the judges recognised Solid Rock for being at the forefront of delivering this training to major national oil and gas projects to ensure local talent is fully prepared to meet the standards expected.
These projects include the Tilenga oil development project operated by TotalEnergies, the Kingfisher oil development project operated by CNOOC and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
Reacting to winning the award, Franklin Bouguep, Executive Director for Solid Rock Life and Business Uganda and Co-CEO for the International Group, expressed his pride at the achievement.
“We are really excited and proud to win the award. This is a testament to the hard work that was done by all the team.
“Most of the programmes we run in Uganda are large programmes. A client might decide it needs 50 to 100 students from a certain region and we need to make sure we can reach out to those students, make sure they meet the requirements for the programme and then get them to come.
“So, there’s a great deal of effort that goes into mobilisation, assessment, delivery and graduation, and for us, this award just shows us that the work is not in vain.”
He added that the recognition reflects not only quality and consistency, but also the organisation’s commitment to supporting young people beyond the classroom: “We make sure trainees, young men and women, are equipped to work to the stringent standards of the oil and gas sector, and we also help them become service providers in their own right.
“A large percentage of ECITB-accredited training providers in the market were trained by us. We understand the importance of growing the ecosystem.”
Franklin Bouguep
Executive Director for Solid Rock Life and Business Uganda and Co-CEO for the International Group
A strong, collaborative partnership with ECITB Global
As one of the largest training facilities in Uganda and across East Africa, Solid Rock has trained close to 26,000 people in the last five years (pictured).
“For us it is about impact,” added Franklin. “What can we do to make sure that young people in Africa have the best education, get great jobs, have successful careers, take care of their family and help the development of their country. That’s our philosophy.”
He highlighted the value of working closely with ECITB, adding: “ECITB Global has a holistic approach we really appreciate, in terms of making sure that accreditation meets the market demand and is effectively used.
“There’s a difference between having an organisation that might sit in the UK and say ‘we have the standards if you need it’ and one that actually comes on the ground, wants to understand what you need and speaks with employers, trainees, training providers and the administrators. ECITB ensure the standards meet real market needs.
“International accreditation strengthens the credibility of our programmes and assures clients of our standards.
“Our continuous feedback also helps the ECITB to adjust things with the contextualisation that is necessary to deliver these programmes as we’re in the market, we understand the subtilities, the challenges or the opportunities that we can share. This ensures programmes reflect the unique challenges and opportunities within our market.”
Pictured main: Franklin Bouguep and Ronald Kavulu (Chief Operating Officer) from Solid Rock Life and Business with ECITB Head of Commercial Tristan Kemp at the awards.
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