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Yeganeh LARIJANI
Iranian citizen
Born in Tehran.
Petroleum Company – Total Libya -
Tripoli - Head of Human Resources and Training
Projects.
Education: Bachelors in Chemical Engineering
(B.SC.) Teheran University. Master’s
Degree in English
Group seniority: 5 years. January 2000 -
Technical Training Specialist. June 2000
- Training Co-ordinator. September 2004
- Head of Human Resources and Training Projects.
In January 2000, I was recruited locally
as a Technical Training Specialist. This
was back in Teheran. I was primarily in
charged of developing the course material
and organising it. I ensured the quality
and clarity of the manuals.
I was rapidly promoted to be the program’s
Training Co-ordinator. In this position,
I supervised and monitored the TSP Training
Program, which comprised a team of sixty
people. Together, we worked on a huge Training
and Development Program addressed to 700
local employees. We were involved in instructing
the personnel that was assigned to operate
the South Pars Phases 2 & 3 Gas Plant
in Assaluyeh, a port located in the South
of Iran.
From Iran to Libya.
In September 2002, I was transferred to
the Group’s OPCO in Libya as the Head
of Human Resources and Training Projects.
It was supposed to be a short mission of
about one-year long. Due to certain Company
needs, it has been more than two and a half
years since I moved to Tripoli. In my current
position, I am responsible for recruiting
and training the Group’s local employees.
The company has about 250 employees out
of which 50 are expatriates. I deal directly
with the 200 local employees.
Recruitment is a difficult issue to discuss
since in Libya we are asked to do our scouting
discreetly and within certain hiring conditions.
I will talk about the training projects
that we develop. There are actually three
main programs: The first is an on-going
training program for established employees,
which consists on performance appraisals
and evaluations on an on-going basis. The
second is a skill enhancement program that
addresses emerging needs within a specific
department. For this particular training
program, we prepare the program’s
guidelines together with the department’s
managers and engineers. And, the third program
that is targeted to newly hired employees
and recent graduates focuses on the basics
of the oil and gas industry with special
emphasis on Total’s Exploration &
Production activities.
Working Abroad
Working in Libya has been quite a challenge
and the integration process has been tough
since people don’t accept well the
fact of working with a non-European woman.
Although there are more rules on how to
go about submitting proposals here, which
makes the hole working system much slower,
I have to say, that Libyans have been more
receptive to new ideas and suggestions than
others.
Secondly, as a Middle-Eastern woman, I’ve
encountered several difficulties, too. Although
the stereotype of Iranian society is that
of a repressive one against women, I felt
more at ease working in Teheran than I do
here since women and men, alike, respected
my work and my suggestions than European
men.
The cultural shock has been interesting
and working in an OPCO has been a tough
but enriching experience. I consider myself
a self-driven and determined person and
I think that it helps in order to succeed
inside a Group like Total.
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