Job Discussion Forums

[hash]

Although I've always had a soft spot for Vinnell (for reasons I won't go into here), there's no doubt that:

--- It has always been and continues to be the toughest gig for ESL types in KSA. This is largely because.....

--- You're not wanted there. The English training unit was something that was forced down their collective throats back in the day. The last thing Vinnell wanted was to be "involved" with a bunch of fancy-pants, squabbling "teachers".

This applies to ALL military contracts in KSA, by the way, and a lot of civilian ones too. For whatever reasons, this is still the prevailing attitude among a large % of KSA employers towards their teachers.

--- DLI ("See, Spot, see") still rules up and down the Nejd, the Hijaz and the Eastern Province.

FYI - the English Unit at Vinnell was originally NOT part of Vinnell - the job was sub-contracted to the "Center for Applied Linguistics" (CAL) out of DC (which still exists, no doubt). In those early days, ESL teachers worked from 8-1 pm 5 days a week, uniforms were not mandatory and CAL even provided "retirement benefits" with TIAA/CREF (how innocent it all sounds now). You were CAL employees which included Social Security, unemployment benefits, sumptious vacation schedules, and so on.

Once Vinnell realized they could easily hire its own teachers on the open market, the CAL contract was eventually not renewed and teachers became regular Vinnell employees/indentured servants.

[scot47]

Military contracts in KSA are all dire. Lots of money but there is a price to pay. Even the "lots of money" is drying up now.

[GENO123]

Which would be better Vinnell or B3H?

[scot47]

Neither. Really military contracts are TOUGH and you will pay a real price in terms of sanity. As one of the other posters wrote here, teachers are not welcome on these gigs. You will be treated like a leper.

[RickBlaine]

What's going on at Vinnell currently? The information on this board seems a bit dated. Feel free to PM me. I've done this kind of work in the kingdom before and survived with my sanity (and a few bucks). I'm thinking of applying to Vinnell or Raytheon later this year.

RB

[plumpy nut]

It took me about 10 seconds to see that they require a LON. How pathetic that is. Vinnell is owned by Northrup Grumman.

[LPKSA]

[nomad soul]

Are workers riding in vehicles bearing the company name?

Americans shot at in Ahsa work for Vinnell
Saudi Gazette | 2 February 2015
Source: http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150202232382

RIYADH — A US defense contractor said Sunday that two of its American employees came under fire in the latest attack against Westerners in Saudi Arabia. It was the second time in recent months that staff of the contractor Vinnell Arabia have been targeted.

"We can confirm that two Vinnell Arabia employees were involved in an incident on Friday, in which they were shot at by assailants in Al-Ahsa governorate," the company said in a statement issued through a public relations firm. "Both employees were injured but are in stable condition at a local hospital," it added.

Police said earlier that one American had been wounded in a shooting. "A car carrying two American nationals ... came under fire from an unknown source," on Friday afternoon in Al-Ahsa, part of the Eastern Province, police said. A source close to the incident told AFP that several rounds were fired at the Vinnell vehicle from a white car. The incident occurred near Hofouf city. The Vinnell driver was hit several times, the source said, adding he was not aware of injuries to the second employee who was able to drive his wounded colleague to hospital. On Friday, a resident of Al-Ahsa told AFP that police had blocked off the area around a National Guard facility.

Asked about a possible motive for the shooting, Interior Ministry spokesman Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said: "We're still waiting for the results of the investigation." The attack is the fourth against Westerners in the Kingdom since October. In October, one Vinnell employee was shot dead and another wounded at a petrol garage in the capital Riyadh.

The Interior Ministry identified the suspected shooter as a US-born Saudi who had been fired from Vinnell Arabia. He was shot and wounded in a gunfight with security officers. "It was not a terrorist-related incident," Al-Turki said. The October shooting was the first deadly attack on Westerners in Saudi Arabia since several were killed in a wave of Al-Qaeda violence between 2003 and 2007. Among the targets at that time were housing compounds where foreigners lived, including one which was home to Vinnell staff.

Security around Western facilities has since been markedly increased. The latest attack on Vinnell recalls the wounding of a Dane in November. He was driving away from his workplace when he was fired on from another car. A week after the Dane's shooting, someone stabbed and wounded a Canadian while he shopped at an Eastern Province mall.

(End of article)

[rollingk]

[Chris P. Bacon]

Read this blog. It is somewhat dated, but interesting.

vinnell.blogspot.com

[water rat]

You know, Vinnell won't even consider you anyway if you ain't a 'an Amerikin'. Not even Canadians will do. The former colonel who for no good reason that I know of was in charge of the ESL dept. told me this was because your Limey teacher will call a hot water heater a geezer and a squash a marrow. Hence ruining the students' prospects forever.

[plumpy nut]

OK, but we need to get that vocabulary right. then we won't have so many issues.

[plumpy nut]

The actual reason is probably that the company is owned by Northrup Grumman. therefore hiring non-Americans would be a conflict of interest.

[water rat]

[dustdevil]