UAE Portrait of a Nation: Will Jones has watched the UAE grow for 35 years

Will Jones arrived in Abu Dhabi in 1980 – with wife Mary and three children – from Brunei, where he worked with Shell after his “itchy feet” inspired him to leave the UK and find work abroad.

Will Jones arrived in the UAE in 1980 to work in oil and gas and went on to mentor Emiratis later took leadership roles in companies such as Gasco. Delores Johnson / The National

For many Emiratis, the challenge was to keep up with Will Jones, but now, nearing his 80th birthday, the Briton looks back on many fruitful years as a mentor to the nationals who now lead their country’s oil industry.

After working for more than three decades in the UAE, Will Jones can boast of his role in the Emiratisation of both the energy sector and his golf club.

Recently retired, the 79-year-old worked predominately with Gasco (Abu Dhabi Gas Industries) in Al Ruwais, in the Western Region, during a lengthy career.

In 1980, he arrived in Abu Dhabi with his wife and three daughters from Brunei, where he had worked with Shell after his “itchy feet” had inspired him to leave the UK and find work abroad.

“It was a fantastic period because there was no entertainment. Everything we did ourselves. We were in the middle of the jungle, there was oil and gas, and a rich sultan,” he said, describing the start of a new life for himself, wife Mary, and daughters Sarah, Anne and Mandy.

Arriving in the UAE a decade later, he found a similar environment, albeit one of sand instead of lush vegetation.

“We initially lived in Abu Dhabi city, commuting to work at Ruwais until the housing complex construction completed, which, as Mary said, was a bit like Moonbase Alpha,” Mr Jones said, referring to the 1970s science fiction TV drama Space: 1999.

“There was nothing but desert. One of the recommendations to the ladies was, ‘don’t buy good shoes, just flip flops’.”

He said his best years in the UAE were the 1980s, witnessing the country’s growth, the construction of a proper motorway to Al Ruwais, and the development of the industry.

“It was hard work,” he said of his duties with Gasco, which sometimes took him away from his family for extended periods.

But the most rewarding work was participating in the Emiratisation of the energy industry, he said.

“Part of the job description was to bring up Emiratis, and I took this as a serious business,” he said. “I didn’t train anybody because my chemical engineering education was not as good as theirs. I was only trying to help with self-development: to take pride in what you’re doing and go.”

Since retiring, his duties have been taken over by an Emirati.

Mr Jones predicts most management roles will soon be taken up solely by nationals.

“It was often an 18-hour day, seven days a week, during this development period, but I still found time to play golf.”

As an avid fan of the game, Mr Jones joined the “sand golf club” in Abu Dhabi , something that inspired him to help build a course just outside of Al Ruwais. He eventually became president of the Jebel Dhanna Golf Club, one of only a handful of sand courses in the country.

On his retirement after many long, fruitful years, he said: “I’m a country boy, born in a Flintshire, North Wales village, and being a Welsh speaking Welshman, kept a home in the same place to retire to.”

But Mr Jones admitted he has struggled to get accustomed to post-work life.

“I’m still up very early, much to the annoyance of the family,” he said. “I have several tasks of home improvements ongoing to keep my mind and body active.”

Mr Jones, however, will soon be back in the UAE to visit Sarah, who lives in Dubai.

While here, he plans to fit in a few rounds at the golf club, where his duties as president are also now handled by an Emirati.