Takatuf enables next generation of engineering professionals

MUSCAT: Answering the call to help prepare the next generation of highlyqualified, competent and job-ready graduates for Oman’s energy sector, Takatuf Oman has announced plans to establish two state-of-the-art technical training institutes, in partnerships with Schlumberger and Petrofac.

The announcement was made on the occasion of the visit of Salim bin Nasser al Oufi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil and Gas, and Dr Mona bint Salim al Jardaniyah, Undersecretary of Ministry of Manpower of Technological Education and Vocational Training.

The event recognised the rapid progress being made by Takatuf, Schlumberger and Petrofac in bringing to market valuable investments in technical training that will enable the energy and utilities sectors to accelerate the rate by which they train and employ Oman’s next generation of technical engineering professionals.

“With every new project that is conceived towards the development of Omani Human Capital, industry and education move in tandem one step further towards a workforce wellequipped to respond to our economy’s call to innovate and excel,” said Dr Mona al Jardaniyah.

“The value of these projects, particularly in terms of future capabilities, is immense: more opportunity for professional growth opens the doors to our workforce making a greater impact on not only our country’s economic development, but their own personal and professional futures”.

Al Oufi said, “It’s promising to see Oman’s private sector stepping up to help our secondary school and university graduates realise their professional potential in the fields of technical engineering. The worldwide oil and gas sector is rapidly evolving and it’s crucial for our economy that Omani professionals are prepared to respond effectively”.

“Oman’s push towards a greater role for In-Country Value is based largely on the development of its Human Capital and the potential of our labour force to effectively respond to our region’s fast-growing competitiveness,” said Ibrahim al Harthy, Managing Director of Takatuf Oman.

“Oman has ambitious plans to invest in multi-billion-dollar asset projects over the next few years, and these projects need to be led by an educated and skilled workforce”.

The Oman Institute for Oil and Gas, or “instOG,” is a joint-venture between Takatuf Oman and Schlumberger Oman envisioned as a premier stateof-the-art Institute dedicated to training and equipping engineers and geoscientists with the right skills to develop, optimise and sustain Oman’s oil and gas resources.

“The Institute’s specialization will be accelerating growth and empowering careers,” said Mohsin al Hadhrami, Managing Director of Schlumberger Oman. “A vital part of Oman’s economy is the Oil and Gas industry. However, equally vital is the development of Omani Human Capital to sustain our economic growth. With Takatuf, instOG will leverage Schlumberger’s established track record of more than seventy years in world-class industry training to help Oman’s engineers become petro-technical professionals in record time”.

Takatuf-Petrofac Oman, or ‘TPO’, is a joint-venture between Takatuf Oman and Petrofac conceptualised to provide world-class, internationally accredited development pathways to upskill the capabilities of future and existing personnel supporting the energy sector.

“The concept is to provide high school leavers, technical diploma graduates and even existing employees with the technical training opportunities to make an immediate and valuable contribution to the workplace,” said Karim Osseiran, Vice President of Petrofac Training Services. “At TPO, this approach will translate into providing a unique, immersive and overall safe learning environment that gives hands-on access to industry’s tools of trade. Our result will be internationallyqualified operators ready to work on day one as they enter the midstream and downstream Oil and Gas, as well as utility sectors”. InstOG and TPO are located in Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM) and Innovation Park Muscat, both in close proximity to Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) and Oman’s emerging community centred on learning and collaboration between industry and academia. Operational by Q4 2017, instOG and TPO will offer seats to over 600 candidates each year.