Aramco designed a gamified training programme to improve training while addressing workforce safety and process skills gaps among a site’s young workforce. The programme provides an immersive, multi-player, collaborative space offering 60+ certified courses covering operational requirements as well as elements of leadership, onboarding, safety and well-being. The investment allowed for a 43% reduction in operating expenses (OpEx) by reducing the need for training-related travel and in-person training sessions. The training enables operators and technicians to safely and successfully perform preventive maintenance to essential equipment under rigorous conditions, simulating real-life scenarios that cannot be replicated in a classroom environment, and without having to shut down production. The initiative has improved maintenance technician competency, reducing the maintenance backlog by 11%. CASE STUDY 13 Aramco implements gamified training – Saudi Arabia Facing challenges in finding and hiring talent with the right skill set, Western Digital collaborated with a university to develop a multidisciplinary curriculum for its employees. The curriculum was optimized to develop skills for digitized manufacturing, with competencies in areas such as software, database, ML/AI and advanced mathematics. Western Digital co-designed specialized tools such as IIoT sensors and software for frontline upskill/reskill training in conjunction with universities and suppliers, enhancing workforce competency and labour productivity. Participating professors provide onsite training, and participating employees can earn academic credit towards a degree. Through this initiative, Western Digital has increased its frontline workers trained in IIoT fundamentals by 49% while boosting the number of employees promoted due to upskilling and reskilling by 26.8%. CASE STUDY 14 Western Digital builds a digital leadership essentials programme – Thailand Managing performance for operators and supervisors that drives the right behaviours to achieve performance aspirations. Leaders in talent effectiveness use digital solutions to enable clear visibility of hour-by-hour performance metrics mapped to specific goals and engage in performance-oriented huddles. They recognize and reward employees based on performance linked to overall business goals and use automated processes to track time and attendance. Frontline workers receive coaching focused on how they impact organizational success; meanwhile, managers are trained to provide effective coaching and feedback. Managers and supervisors spend the majority of their time on the shop floor coaching their teams.Talent effectiveness Putting Talent at the Centre: An Evolving Imperative for Manufacturing 22

Putting Talent at the Centre An Evolving Imperative for Manufacturing 2025