Khansaheb Civil Engineering (Khansaheb) is a well-respected and trusted name within the UAE construction market, and this year celebrates its 90th anniversary. The company’s primary focus market is the UAE and over the years, it has helped engineer and build some of the country’s most prestigious projects across sectors, leveraging its broad array of in-house expertise including mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP), through its Khansaheb MEP division.

The construction company’s MEP arm is committed to safety, quality, build ability, value engineering and delivery and, as part of this commitment, it has placed a high priority on investing in its people’s capabilities through its MEP Training Centre. The facility was originally set up over a decade ago and in 2024 the company decided to step up its focus on up-skilling staff through the training centre.

“The MEP Training Centre was set up about 10 or 12 years ago and was originally based in Jebel Ali. There’s minimal focus on MEP staff training in the market and as we are committed to safety and quality of delivery, we took the opportunity to set the facility up, so that we could enhance the capabilities of our onsite staff,” says Ryan Emsley, General Manager – MEP, Khansaheb.

He adds, “We had plans to expand the training centre just before the pandemic hit but due to the impact of COVID-19 on the construction market and the market in general, we reluctantly hit pause. Early last year we reinvigorated our plans because there’s a huge benefit to the centre, and in September 2024, the first group went through the training program at our new facility in Al Quoz.”

Emsley says that the MEP Training Centre is now a part of Khansaheb MEP’s main office in Al Quoz and is a dedicated, purpose-built space for training staff.

“The new centre is a better facility than its predecessor and puts people together rather than have them in individual cabins as was the case before. We now have dedicated classrooms and we typically put through about 15 members of our team each week. Since September last year to about July this year, we put around 330 people through the training centre in what we call Phase One training. Going forward, any new recruits that we onboard will be put through the training centre so they’re up-skilled to our way of doing things and can provide value on jobsites,” explains Emsley.

Discussing the MEP Training Centre in greater detail, Emsley notes that the division developed its own training program and says that whereas it was previously a two-week course, it has been revised to six days. He states that the training centre is focused on general MEP build knowledge rather than focusing on designs and installations for specific builds or sectors.

“Depending on the person’s discipline within the MEP segment they go through a specific part of the course but first and foremost, as our number one priority is health and safety, everyone goes through that training together to begin with. That’s mandatory and it is designed to bring everyone up to speed in terms of our health and safety regulations, what our sites should look like, what is safe/what is not etc. From there, they then filter off into their own disciplines, and learn about materials and planning, so they are ultimately more productive on jobsites,” comments Emsley.

Asked about whether the program extends beyond the facility and includes onsite training, Emsley responds, “Everything is handled within the facility itself but we take feedback from the supervisors who are monitoring the staff on a day-to-day basis. In addition, down the line we plan to bring all the staff who did the Phase One training back to the MEP Training Centre to see their current skill levels and make sure the training is still with them.”

Talking about whether the centre has specific KPIs that can be equated to success and return on investment for the company, Emsley says it’s quite a tricky thing to measure.

He elaborates, “We’re getting a lot of positive feedback from supervisors and foremen on our jobsites but it’s quite difficult to measure that against full-fledged KPIs. That said, we are seeing people coming away from the training with a greater breadth of capabilities and are able to add real value when they go to work on a project alongside staff from our other divisions.”

Growth Plans

Discussing the market and what the future looks like for Khansaheb MEP, Emsley is positive noting that whereas the market slowed down when the pandemic first hit, there’s a healthy pipeline of development going forward in the UAE.

“There’s quite a bit to come through on the new build side of things and the data centre market in particular seems to be taking off. The segment came to light a few years ago and cooled but it looks poised to explode again, with a few big announcements that have been made recently,” he says.

Emsley says outside of that, the MEP division alongside the company’s contracting division has recently secured contract for the Dubai Harbour Residences and expects that turnover will increase significantly next year. “This project is one of the largest projects we have taken on to date, both in scale and value, and is set to significantly grow our turnover in the coming year while enabling us to reinvest in the continued expansion of the division.”

Commenting on the pool of available talent, Emsley states that there is a void in the MEP segment that’s been caused by several factors, including the outbreak of the pandemic. He notes that in recent years there’s been a lack of fresh new talent coming into the discipline, while existing engineers have simultaneously moved into manager roles thus creating a supply and demand gap. He says that going forward, the MEP division will be focused on bringing in trainee engineers and developing a healthy pipeline of talent with the support of the MEP Training Centre. This includes offering opportunities to Emirati trainee engineers, as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to nurturing local talent and contributing to the future growth of the sector.

He concludes, “Khansaheb MEP has maintained its premier standing in the market and the MEP Training Centre is going to ensure that continues as we grow and take on larger and more complex projects in the UAE.”