Yasuo Aoki, Director General of the International Department at the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Japanese Consul General John Yoshida, SJAHI Executive Director Salem Bin Hassan Al-Asmari, members of the Saudi Committee for Vehicles Hussein Alireza, Najeeb Al-Isa, and Bandar Al-Esayi, along with the competition winners, pose for a group photo. JEDDAH – The Saudi-Japanese Automobile High Institute (SJAHI) in Jeddah organized the 10th technical skills competition in the maintenance of Japanese vehicles on Wednesday. As many as 250 Saudi youths participated in the contest, with Group D clinching the first prize. Groups A and E bagged the second and third positions, respectively. Several prominent figures, including Yasuo Aoki, Director General of the International Department at the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), Japanese Consul General John Yoshida, and SJAHI Executive Director Salem Bin Hassan Al-Asmari, in addition to members of the Saudi Committee for Vehicles including Hussein Alireza, Najeeb Al-Isa, and Bandar Al-Esayi attended the function. Employees and students of the institute were also there. Addressing the gathering, Al-Asmari said this year's competition was organized after the 10th anniversary celebration of the institute which provides automobile–related vocational training for the young generation in the Kingdom. “Within this short span of time, the institute has been instrumental in providing a high standard of education and training in automotive technology and repair. It is a factory for producing unique and excellent quality of Saudi expertise and competence,” he said. Referring to the achievements made by SJAHI, Al-Asmari said: “In what we have seen from the high level technical capabilities and skills demonstrated by the trainees at the institute, we can say emphatically that our youths are on the right track and our institute is producing highly skilled national cadets in automobile maintenance and repair.” Yasuo Aoki noted that SJAHI has opened its doors for Saudi students in September 2002 as a fruit of excellent partnership between the public and private sectors in the Kingdom and Japan. He said that a total of 1,830 Saudi youths have already graduated from the institute after obtaining their specialization in automobile technology and maintenance. “The competition among the trainees would help enhance their self-confidence in addition to strengthening the focal point of collective work, besides improving their professionalism,” he said while urging the graduates to develop self-confidence in achieving professional excellence. Consul General John Yoshida urged the trainees to uphold professional ethics throughout their career. “There are five basic concepts on which the institute's training program are founded, and these included professional ethics, spirit of cooperation, and hard work,” he said. Ali Hussein Alireza said in his speech that holding the competition every year is the best way to demonstrate the level of learning and training acquired by graduates from the institute. — SG
