117 Omani women graduate from PDO skill training scheme

Energy Wednesday 17/January/2018 13:47 PM
By: Times News Service
117 Omani women graduate from PDO skill training scheme

Muscat: Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) today (17 January) marked the graduation of 117 young women from a Company-sponsored training programme to work in the clothing industry.

A celebration event was held at Salalah’s Crowne Plaza hotel to honour their success under the auspices of His Excellency Dr Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Amri, Technical Affairs Adviser at the Office of the Minister of State and Governor of Dhofar.

The jobseekers have successfully completed a six-month course which included sewing machine techniques and English communication and computer skills. They will be employed by Fashion Apparels LLC and Ark Garment Manufacturing at their clothing factories in the Salalah Free Zone.

The trainees were the first batch to graduate from the programme which targets the training of 450 women over the course of three years, all of whom will be employed at these factories upon successful completion of their training.

PDO’s External Affairs and Value Creation Director Abdul-Amir Abdul-Hussein Al Ajmi said: “I am delighted that the training programme has enabled these women to secure jobs in the clothing industry.

“This is a great example of how we have worked with contractors to boost female empowerment and employment by providing first-class training and logistical support.

“PDO is dedicated to supporting the Sultanate’s economy and we are committed to extending our job creation efforts and diversifying our support beyond the oil and gas industry to other economic sectors.”

The tailoring course, which included technical and on-the-job training, is being managed by the Arabian Training Institute in Salalah. It is being run as part of PDO’s National Objectives programme, which was launched in 2011 and has so far created around 45,000 employment, redeployment and training opportunities for jobseekers.

PDO has also championed female economic empowerment through its Banat Oman project which has so far trained 300 women from low-income backgrounds in traditional Omani crafts and skills so they can earn a living and set up their own businesses.