The recruitment corner

Jeanne Laborie leads Sidem's Process Department. She integrated the company in 1980 after graduating from French Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Industries Chimiques of Nancy followed by a PhD and then postgraduate studies at the University of Vancouver (BC).

Jeanne, can you tell us why you chose to join Sidem?

After graduating in Nancy, I did a postdoc for the Canadian government at the University of Vancouver where I was in charge of optimising a fish offloading pump for the local fishing industry. I then applied for several positions at companies in France and decided to join Sidem. Working on real, tangible plants and this in an international field were probably the decisive factors for joining Sidem.

You've been now for more than 25 years with Sidem, can you tell us what you did over that period?

In 1980 I joined the R&D department of Sidem. I was soon offered a new position at the Process Department, in charge of definition, modelling and optimisation of the evaporators and other ancillary equipment of the thermal desalination plants.

Is there anything particular about Sidem that you would like to express in order to help candidates to better capture Sidem's working spirit and environment?

What is particularly satisfying at Sidem is the importance that the company gives to technology. We have been pioneers in the desalination industry and we want to keep a technological gap with our competitors. One of the keys to achieve this goal is based on the relationship between the collaborators. Here, doors are always open and as a new employee you will always benefit from help and support from your colleagues. In addition to the usual qualities expected from an engineer, the key to a successful career at Sidem is your ability to work in a team and share your knowledge and work with others.

If like Jeanne you are keen on developing technology around the desal business and you like working in a team, why not considering joining Sidem? You can post your CV here.

Garry Erb is Deputy Project Manager at Sidem. He joined the company in 2006, having graduated from French Engineering School ESIGELEC in Rouen and one year postgraduate studies at the Union College University of Schenectady, NY.

Garry, you joined the company recently: what have been the main drivers for you to join Sidem?

Upon completion of my 1 year postgraduate studies in the USA, I was looking for a position as a trainee in a company that would offer: one - work in English; two - the possibility of working in a foreign country; 3 - a leading company in its business segment, and a front-runner in technology. Sidem was publicising a job as a VIE (Volontariat International Entreprise), posted in Bahrain, to work on the implementation of a large desalination plant and I was thrilled to be accepted.

Garry, what have you been doing since September 2006, when you accepted the position?

My first task was to deal with work permits as the construction of the plant was on an operational site. I was very pleased as I was given the opportunity to satisfy my curiosity by being accepted all around the construction site. At the end of 2006 I was given the responsibility of completing the fire-fighting system and in early 2007 I joined the Commissioning team. In September 2007 I was Commissioning Manager when Sidem made me a firm proposal to work as a permanent staff for the company. In November 2007 I returned to Sidem's HQ's in Paris to start my new job as Deputy Project Manager on a new large desalination project for Fujairah, UAE.

Is there anything particular about Sidem that you would like to express in order to help candidates to better capture Sidem's working spirit and environment?

I am very excited to be a part of Sidem because the company can offer a large panel of activities, in Paris and around the world on large industrial projects. Also the management listens well to their staff and provides great opportunities to motivated personnel. It is so pleasant to work in this environment where everybody knows each other, driven by the same motto: Passion.

If like Garry you are mobile and enjoy the excitement of working on large projects, you may wish to contact us to see if we have opportunities to suit you.

Raafat Naim Aziz is an engineer graduated from Cairo University, Electronics Department with a Major in computer control. He's married, has a young daughter and lives in Abu Dhabi.

Raafat, you're 33 years old and now almost 10 years with Sidem, can you explain what made you join Sidem and what you've been doing for the company?

After my graduation in Cairo I left for the United Arab Emirates where I was first employed in an Italian company. This company wasn't doing well so I assessed alternative placements in my field of competence, sent a CV to Sidem Abu Dhabi, and was offered a job as a junior instrumentation engineer. I was quickly sent to a project site in Umm-Al-Nar in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and my first mission was to observe and get acquainted with the control system Sidem was implementing at the time on that site. I was then involved in a project in Sharjah, and even went to Paris to assist in the reception of the system at the manufacturer's plant. In 2002 I was sent on a training course in Germany in order to understand and implement a new control system in the frame of the Al-Taweelah project in the UAE. From then on, I became a Site key personnel in charge of the implementation and commissioning of the control systems on all projects based in the Middle East: units of QAFCO in Qatar, Mobin in Iran, and other projects in Sharjah, Ajman, Ras-Al-Khaimah and Bahrain. In addition to the control system, I am now also in charge of the installation and commissioning of the instrumentation of a very large project in the Emirate of Fujairah. This is a very big responsibility, I work very hard on it and I hope to meet the expectations of my managers by doing a good job.

Your work requests that you may leave your family for relatively long periods of time. How are you coping between these constraints and your family life?

By accepting this job at Sidem I knew that I would have to travel a lot and that sometimes I would have to stay for weeks on a project without the possibility to return to my home in Abu Dhabi. At the beginning, I wasn't married and this wasn't an issue. Of course, when I got married my wife knew about the constraints and I must say she's always been very supportive. Sidem's managers on their side have been great too, they are always listening and do their best to take the family factor in consideration. This is also why I'm happy to work for Sidem because I've always been able to properly balance my time between my work on the project sites and my wife and daughter in Abu Dhabi.

If like Raafat you're already abroad and you are interested in an assignment on one of our projects world-wide, please contact us using the e-mail address of the local Sidem representation office available here.