As the energy transition continues to move forward, nations around the globe are taking steps to prepare the world for a low- or no-carbon future, and Saudi Arabia is no different.

In 2021, the Kingdom launched the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI), a program designed to unite the population behind sustainability initiatives, including a commitment to generate half of their power from renewable sources by 2030, improve energy efficiency and develop a carbon capture and storage program.

Achieving those goals will require significant investments across a host of areas, not the least of which is in programs designed to train new and existing workers to use the software and equipment needed to reach them.

Spurred in part by that need, the appetite for training in Saudi Arabia—in the use of industrial software, the development of sustainability pathways and the use of Industrial AI—has exploded in recent years. AspenTech is stepping up to fill the gap with its new regional HQ, including a dedicated training facility.

The new facility comes two years after AspenTech signed a multi-year agreement to provide technical training and competency development programs on process and asset optimization technologies and operational analytics to students and academic staff in the Chemical Engineering Department at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM).

The combination of the new HQ—located near the university—and the training agreement will ensure students develop the most up-to-date skills in using AspenTech software and are able to put those skills to work when they enter the workforce.

That training will be particularly important going forward as increasing numbers of older workers retire.

Like many companies around the world, Saudi companies are adjusting not only to significant technological changes, but also to a generational change. The challenge is that experienced workers have an intuitive sense of which feedstocks are ideal for producing different products and how to control certain processes for optimal output.

The growing number of younger workers, however, don’t come with decades of pre-loaded experience; training is critical to ensure they enter the job market with the knowledge needed to keep systems running safely, efficiently and at optimum performance.

Helping to enable that generational change is the emergence of a critical innovation: Industrial AI.

Demand for training in how to use Industrial AI has grown exponentially in recent years, as asset-intensive companies turn to the technology to help increase efficiency, optimize certain processes and accelerate their sustainability efforts.

Industrial AI also holds significant promise as a training tool by helping younger workers gain invaluable real-world experience quickly and by automating certain actions to deliver consistent accurate results.

As part of AspenTech’s commitment to competency development in the region, the company is hosting its first-ever event in Saudi Arabia. ACCELERATE | MEA 2025 (April 14, 2025 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia) will bring together industry leaders and executives from across the Middle East and Africa to learn more about how Industrial AI can improve performance, reliability and sustainability—and how AspenTech can help their workforce develop the skills needed to enable new technologies and innovations as the energy transition progresses. For customers and partners interested in attending, additional information and registration can be found here.