Success Story: ZADCO and TOEIC® Testing

Zakum Development Company (ZADCO), a member of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) group of companies, is involved in the production of oil and gas. The company was established in 1977 to develop and operate one of the largest oil fields in the world on behalf of ADNOC and Japan Oil Development Company. Its development of the Upper Zakum reservoirs is considered to be one of the major technical achievements in Abu Dhabi. The company prides itself in adopting the latest technologies in developing and operating these fields.

As more UAE nationals are finishing their education and joining the work force, ZADCO’s human resources department has been seeking out valid and reliable ways to evaluate their employees and to effectively integrate new employees into their operations. One of the areas that ZADCO has found essential to the development of all new employees and the smooth operation of all of its divisions is the effective use of English.

To better serve a changing work force and the need for English language skills, the training department at ZADCO wanted an assessment tool that was internationally recognized, a world leader in its field, and was able to evaluate English in the work place.

Since TOEIC tests fit all these criteria, ZADCO asked AMIDEAST, a nonprofit organization promoting understanding and cooperation between Americans and the people of the Middle East and North Africa, to participate in a pilot project to evaluate English language testing tools. AMIDEAST tested 50 employees both at ZADCO headquarters and off-shore in the initial study.

ZADCO looked at three different testing tools for assessing business English. ZADCO chose TOEIC as the most appropriate tool to evaluate their employees for a number of reasons:

ZADCO determined that the TOEIC was able to accurately evaluate a broad band of language abilities, from beginning to advanced levels.
TOEIC had the fastest score report turnaround time.
The price of TOEIC tests was the most competitive.
The ability of AMIDEAST to fit testing to the work schedule and location of test takers was a big plus. Some of ZADCO's employees work offshore for several weeks at a time and are unable to go to a test center.
TOEIC is focused on evaluation of everyday English used in the workplace and can be used with employees in a wide range of jobs.

ZADCO has established score standards in different job categories and is using TOEIC to screen new employees. The human resources department decides whether an employee goes straight to the position or if English language training is needed—and how much. Using the TOEIC is also proving an effective way to group their employees in the appropriate course levels.

Working with AMIDEAST, ZADCO has been able to establish reliable standards of English language proficiency for their organization. They are using TOEIC to deploy employees, to determine if an employee is able to be successful in an overseas assignment, and to identify employees who require further language training. In addition, they are using TOEIC to place and group students in English courses, demonstrate student progress in their course work, and evaluate course effectiveness.