【State-owned enterprises overseas】The “white-collar workers” in Turkmenistan’s foreign companies – Bayram

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The last edit to this post was made by lovelife1997 on April 5, 2019, at 16:56. Before the Spring Festival, Bajram, a foreign employee at China National Petroleum Corporation’s Daqing Oilfield Engineering Company, was honored as an outstanding employee by the Daqing Oilfield. He flew specially to Daqing, wearing a bright red award ribbon, to visit his hometown and gain an understanding of the Daqing Spirit and the Iron Man Spirit. 　　In 2008, 27-year-old Bayram was a farmer born in Turkmenistan; he had two children. After graduating from high school, he served in the army for two years before returning to his underdeveloped hometown to grow cotton. He had never used a computer or flown in a plane, and his income was low. In 2018, at the age of 37, he became a foreign administrative manager at China National Petroleum Corporation, responsible for taking care of the daily needs of over 400 local workers. Those who are skilled in using office software are the foreign company \"white-collar workers\" that locals envy. 　　In 2008, Daqing Engineering Construction Company, as the contractor for PetroChina’s overseas projects, entered the Turkmenistan market and hired a group of local employees. At that time, Bayram used the driving skills he had acquired during his military service to become a vehicle driver for a Chinese company. Once, a Chinese employee who had just arrived in Turkey developed acute enteritis due to the unfamiliar environment. In a situation where he had no one around and couldn’t communicate in the local language, Bajram volunteered to drive him to the hospital to help him get medical treatment. 　　The early stage of project construction is also a period of adjustment for the cooperation between the personnel from both sides. Due to religious and cultural differences, even a slightly louder question from Chinese managers is perceived by local employees as an insult, leading to tense situations. At that point, Bayram would rush out to act as a \"mediator,\" putting an end to the situation filled with **. 　　In 2010, Daqing Oilfield Engineering Construction Company adopted a personnel management approach centered on \"internationalization of management and localization of construction,\" and it was necessary to select several locals with strong comprehension and execution skills to manage foreign employees. Since Bajram was able to strictly abide by China’s management systems and had good work habits, it was only natural that he became an administrator. 　　Since then, he has actively learned to use modern office equipment such as computers and printers; now, he can handle various office software for documents and spreadsheets with ease ； During the daily morning meetings, after assigning tasks, he would convey the Chinese regulations regarding safe construction and quality standards to the local employees in their local dialect, thereby ensuring good cooperation between the Chinese and local teams ； He truly treated himself as an employee of China National Petroleum Corporation; when facing inspections by local environmental protection agencies, immigration departments, and others, he always considered the interests of the Chinese company and argued his case firmly in such situations. 　　Bairam is thick on the outside but slender on the inside; he has under his command around 400 people, each of whom joined at a different time. He keeps a record of them all, and whenever it’s time to distribute work uniforms, work boots, and other protective equipment, he knows exactly who should get them, arranging everything in an orderly manner. 　　In 2014, Bairam received his first valuable learning opportunity in life, spending 3 months studying Chinese at China University of Petroleum. He was overjoyed; it was his first time in China, and moreover he was in the capital. Amidst his excitement, he was even more grateful to Chinese companies for providing him with the opportunity to broaden his horizons. After returning to his home country, he excitedly told his family and friends about his experiences in Beijing, urging them to definitely visit this magical country in the East if they got the chance. 　　Along the way, as CNPC continued to grow and expand overseas, Bajram’s path of personal development also became broader and broader. Today, the Second Engineering Department of the International Division of Daqing Engineering Construction Company employs 803 foreign workers, and thousands of Chinese workers are working on site daily; Bajram has also learned modern human resource management methods through his work. 　　With the advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese oil companies are becoming increasingly attractive in those regions. Bairam’s wife works in the canteen of the engineering department and has learned how to make Chinese pastries; many employees enjoy the dumplings she makes. The eldest son was admitted to university last year, bringing joy to the whole family.