Thursday 19 / June / 2025
Muscat: Omani graduates need to have training that aims to prepare them for a work environment they will face in the future, besides pursuing their regular studies and internships, say industry heads in Oman. “It’s not just about technical skills but absorbing a work culture and inculcating an ability to understand what employees require,” said Chris Clark, International Development Manager for MedServ Oman, a logistics company.
Said Al Balushi, a banker, was not sure of what he could do after graduating from college. “When I graduated from college, I was not fully aware of what I would be required to do at my workplace, and when I finally got a job, it was hard for me till the supervisors explained to me the operations and what I was required to do.”
His Highness Dr. Sayyid Adham Al Said, Assistant Professor of Economics at the SQU and Managing Partner for a Business and Economics Consulting firm, said it’s not about the lack of skills in Omanis, but the ability to apply the skills they have. “I am not convinced that it’s the lack of skills as much as it is the lack of ability to apply whatever skills they have. So what we tried to do to bridge this gap was to create a platform ‘Wathifny’, which will help fresh graduates land appropriate jobs.
“Generally, we find that most graduates don’t have issues about settling in jobs once they find the right opportunity. Sometimes, business expectations are unrealistically high for graduates, and unfortunately, not all businesses have a good induction programme.”
Robert McLean, Principal of the National Hospitality Institute (NHI), which offers a strong vocational training programme apart from their regular classroom lessons, said, “It is essential for graduates in any discipline to understand the real requirements of the marketplace. It isn’t always about knowledge of a subject, but how to use that knowledge in a working capacity. “At the NHI, the diploma students do 18 months and then a full-time 6 months internship at a five star property. So when they come out, they are genuinely confident about what they do.”
Another industry head said in today’s competitive marketplace, only having a degree doesn’t entitle graduates for a job. “They need to rather prepare themselves to acquire basic skills, either through summer training in corporate companies or through additional courses. On the other side, companies, too, should allow an easy access to internships and training to help bridge the gap between academic and corporate skills required,” said Ali Thabet, Country manager of DHL Express in Oman.
Recently, the DHL trained four fresh graduates. “We ended up hiring two of them, while the other two trainees joined different companies which suited their aspirations. We are proud to have 75 per cent Omanisation.”
However, when the Times of Oman spoke to universities and colleges in Oman, they said they had the right programmes to prepare students to enter the workforce. Our graduates don’t need further work experience to join the work force because the way we develop them here, they are ready to serve,” said a professor at the Sultan Qaboos University. “The question now is the state of the job market because if there is an economic downturn, unemployment will increase. Our engineering programme is accredited by the Accreditation Board of Engineering, Education and Technology in the United States,” he added.
