Registrations open for NLCP
Registrations have been opened for the National Leadership and Competitiveness Programme (NLCP), a national programme for executive government leaders such as directorgenerals, assistant director-generals, advisers and experts.
The Diwan of Royal Court, represented by the Institute of Capability Development, announced the opening of the registrations.
Participation in the programme is open to all government entities and the selection will be based on merit. The programme is an initiative of the Public Private Partnership Taskforce (Sharaka).
“One of the best ways to improve competitiveness in a country is to have a better business environment. So, this programme was designed around enhancing the business environment and that is why we asked the private sector to give feedback on areas that could be improved. The private sector was engaged in the designing of the programme,” said Dr Ali bin Qasim al Lawati, the Adviser for Studies and Research to the Diwan of the Royal Court.
“When we talk about economic competitiveness, I would like to emphasise that economic competitiveness should lead to citizens’ well-being because if it does not lead there, then it is temporary and unhealthy. The economic competitiveness leading to the wellbeing of the citizen has always been His Majesty Sultan Qaboos’s focus and objective,” he said.
The programme’s academic partner is Said Business School, University of Oxford. Four main themes will look into leadership such as leaders who are building up competitiveness, implementation and innovation culture, the type of person and where he/she works and the people who are empowering society and economy.
To understand the needs of the country, field studies were conducted and a large number of stakeholders was consulted. Candidates will be screened to ensure they meet the programme’s admission criteria. Qualified candidates will be invited to participate in assessment centres.
Selection process will include merit as well as overall professional experience, range of responsibility and leadership capabilities.
“The online applications, which opened on Sunday, will go on until May 27. Registration is highly competitive yet transparent,” said Dr Khamis bin Saud al Toobi, Director-General of Administrative Development and Acting Director-General of Institute of Capability Development at the Diwan of Royal Court.
“Out of the 700 candidates who will go through psychometric test, 350 will be chosen. They will go through attitude test in order to select 70 participants. These participants will go through group and one-to-one interviews to reach the final selection of intended 35 members. The programme is like an executive MBA. The director-generals will be carrying out some issue-based projects in which participants will be working in groups. There will be five groups and in the end they will present their projects to the experts. The programme is highly managed and is highly executed,” said Dr Al Toobi.
The first unit will be held for five days in Oxford University, second unit in Oman, third unit (a scientific unit looking into global practices such as Estonia and New Zealand) and the fourth unit will be held in the Sultanate.
“We are looking at economic development and economic environment. This programme is not just about civil service training. Candidates will be individuals who interact with the private sector,” pointed out Dr Al Lawati.
There could be more than 1,000 directorate-generals in Oman, according to officials, and the NLCP is designed to help senior executives understand their organisations and across the government.