Vocational training alternate to university degrees, says expert
Times News Service
MUSCAT: As the Omani economy strives to create jobs for university graduates in the local talent pool, it may be time for initiatives that focus on vocational training for young people with an aptitude for vocational work.
Nearly 50,000 Omanis graduate from various institutes at different levels of education every year but lack of industrial competency is limiting job prospects and threatening their careers. Technical training that aims to equip students for industrial work may be the missing piece in the puzzle.
“When a young Omani finishes high school, they have limited options. The most obvious one is to enrol in a degree programme but not everyone’s style of learning is best suited to academic work. There are some students who demonstrate exceptional skills with their hands while others excel at designing or planning.
“You cannot put them in the same class and expect everyone to do well and have the same job prospects,” Paul Steele, Consultant at the National Training Institute, said.
“This is where vocational training becomes truly valuable. The number of technicians needed, let’s say in an oil field job, is much greater than the number of engineers you need. However, graduates may choose engineering even if they aren’t very design-oriented because they are not aware of alternative career paths. This shows a disconnect between jobs and qualifications. It is difficult to hire all 10 engineers when only three or four are required. Stateof-the-art vocational training institutes can promise a bright future for a lot of talented students,” he added.
Steele was speaking at the NTI/OPAL Star Training Centre, a world-class facility for training oil and gas graduates. The centre has the capacity to enrol 130 students, providing them with technical skills by combining access to workshops in technical disciplines with fully functional rigs common in the hydrocarbon industry.
“Apart from core oilfield experience, we have noticed that a lot of the graduates are not comfortable with speaking and writing English. This is another area where we train them. Moreover, professional discipline like coming on time and a commitment to safety is strictly fostered in our training programmes. Students who cannot be safe and professional in the field will not be able to complete the programme,” he added.
Vocational training programmes have been highlighted as a major driver for local jobs both by government officials and economic experts.
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