Top trainer Salvador is honoured at FIDIC contracts awards event

01 Dec 2022

news image

He might not have been able to be present to pick up his award in person, but when Salvador P Castro Jr won the Trainer of the Year Award at this year’s FIDIC Contract Users’ Awards, the audience at the awards ceremony responded with genuine warmth and appreciation as his acceptance video was shown on screen at the event in London on 29 November this week.

The judging panel for the award said that it was clear from Castro’s entry and the endorsements it contained from satisfied professionals, that people were really learning a lot and enjoying their learning when being trained by him. His innovative presentation and passion about teaching shines through, said the judges.

And Castro is certainly passionate about training. His expertise in this field is underpinned by a mastery of project management that is founded on more than 30 years of practice, affiliations with international organisations and of course continuous world-class training.

As Castro says: “I share what I know with the same amount of passion as I do in every training I’ve ever conducted, drawing from my experiences as a mediator, arbitrator, adjudicator and civil engineer, focusing on dispute avoidance. After each training day, I get feedbacks from participants that they shared in the chat box, which allows me to immediately take action.” It’s an attention to detail that will be well known to those that have been fortunate to have been a recipient of Castro’s training style.

In his entry for the award, Castro described how for the first time in 12 years, he lectured to participants beyond the traditional contract users of FIDIC (employers, contractors, engineers), reaching out to experienced construction arbitrators and mediators, respected legal and technical professionals who can best influence the private and public sectors on the use of construction contracts in the country.

This approach has paid off, with Castro successfully conducting an online in-house FIDIC contracts training course to members of the Philippine Institute of Construction Arbitrators and Mediators (PICAM) endorsed by professional and business communities and trained/accredited construction arbitrators and mediators of the Construction Industry Arbitration Commission (CIAC) inn the Philippines.

His 32-hour online course for CIAC covered practical application of the FIDIC Red and Yellow Books 1999 and the Pink Book 2010, management of claims, resolution of disputes and the roles of dispute board in dispute avoidance, which are currently being used in the massive Build Build Build infrastructure programme (2017-2030) of the Philippines government.

The judges were also impressed by how Castro rose to the challenge of training during the Covid pandemic. He did so through innovative and interesting methods which captivated and engaged his audiences. The flexibility he showed and the diligent way he adapted his training to enhance the experience of attendees was also praised by the judges.

 

Commenting on his success (see video above), Salvador P Castro Jr said: “I am delighted and grateful to be receiving the FIDIC Contracts Trainer of the Year Award. My approach to training stems from the fact that I greatly believe in the subject matter of the FIDIC contracts. I think that the more people that come to know and use it the better for the construction industry and all related industries globally. I hope that along the way people enjoy their tome with me whenever I train them, so I always try to innovate to improve and enhance the trainees’ experience.”

The eminent panel of industry experts that made up the judging panel were certainly impressed by Castro’s approach and his enthusiasm as they made him a worthy winner of the 2022 FIDIC Contracts Trainer of the Year award.

Related news

Coming out of Covid - FIDIC webinar series continues

19-May-2020

International Fund for Agricultural Development signs five-year agreement to use FIDIC standard contracts

02-Jun-2021

CEO's Update - Issue 19: July 2021

08-Jul-2021

Popular FIDIC contracts course gains official CPD accreditation

30-Jun-2023