PDO trains 471 Omani youths to get skilled jobs

Muscat: Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) on Thursday marked the graduation of 471 young Omanis from company-sponsored training schemes to take up full-time employment.
A celebration event was held at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre to honour their success under the auspices of His Highness Sayyid Taimur bin Assad bin Tariq al Said, assistant secretary general for Communication in The Research Council.
The jobseekers have qualified to work in a wide variety of trades, both in the oil and gas industry and other sectors, reflecting PDO’s support for the Government’s efforts to diversify the economy.
The successful trainees will take up positions as electricians, mechanics, pipe fitters, scaffolders, maintenance men, steel fixers, sheet metal workers, fabricators, lifting operators, warehouse staff, cooks, receptionists and waiters.
The batch also includes 91 welders who have been trained to 6G level — the highest international standard and 13 women who will work in the hospitality industry.
The trainees were the ninth batch to graduate from PDO’s National Objectives programme which has created more than 40,000 job, vocational training, redeployment, transfer and community scholarship opportunities for Omanis since it was launched in 2011, with more than 14,000 this year alone. PDO plans to create another 17,000 opportunities next year as part of its aspiration to deliver 50,000 opportunities by 2020.
“More than 1,300 young Omani jobseekers have qualified from PDO-sponsored vocational training programmes this year to take up gainful employment. I applaud them for their commitment and determination to succeed and also thank our partners, both the training organisations and employers, who have stepped up to support His Majesty’s Government call to create jobs for young Omanis,” PDO External Affairs and Value Creation Director Abdul-Amir Abdul-Hussein Al Ajmi said.
“We are all striving to support economic diversification and generate jobs in both the oil and non-oil sectors of the economy and enable nationals to forge rewarding and meaningful careers and contribute to the Sultanate’s economic progress,” he added.
The graduates underwent training lasting up to 18 months at five training institutes and will now take up work with 31 different employers, including Galfar, Arabian Industries, Oman Trading Establishment, ELCO, SNCC, Suhail Bahwan Automobiles, Al Falahy and the Kempinski hotel group.
Some of those qualifying were in the first batch to graduate from Institute of Modern Science and Technical Training and the National Hospitality Institute. Other training providers were the National Training Institute, the Technical and Administrative Training Institute and RAY International Skills Development.
“PDO will continue to do all it can to develop local talent and intensify our In-Country Value drive,” Al Ajmi further added.