Training courses should aim at helping fresh graduates

Sept 8: How to move over smoothly to professional life and get assimilated into the workforce is one of the toughest challenges graduating students have to face in today’s competitive market.

Experience and the number of years working in a specified field required by companies on their job posts topple the dreams of fresh graduates leaving a bad taste even before they can put their foot on the door, they are already not qualified.

Training courses offered by different universities in the Sultanate is a platform that aim to prepare students and graduates for actual work. The importance of these training courses however is lost to some students.

In an unofficial survey recently conducted among students, out of 50 student participants from different schools, only 35 per cent are confident that training courses develop them and contribute to their chances of getting hired. The remaining 65 per cent are adamant about the training. As Ayman al Batashi says, post-graduation, is better to run after a vacancy “instead of losing skills in waiting or applying for training” that does not guarantee getting absorbed by companies.

Twenty-five per cent of the respondents said that their future is important to them and that the current trend of gaining experience through the internship-like training can be a waste of time especially if the company is not looking to absorb the trainees.

The students feel that instead

of contributing their skills and knowledge to a temporary company, they would rather focus their strength into an actual professional life and use what they know on the company that would actually hire them for work.

On the other end of the spectrum, Suha al Shamsi, a graduate student from the College of Applied Sciences said that from her own experience, the training from both government and private sector has honed her skills.

“I saw the training benefits. I did my training programme in a hospital in the data entry department” where my course was aligned “and the learning I got made me confident to deal with the labour workforce.”

This was echoed by Issam al Baloushi who confessed that he studied at Muscat High Technology College and specialised in O&G Engineering. “I did my training at LNG and was eventually absorbed.” To Issam, it was proof that training was very useful. Yusuf Al Badi, Oman Drydock Company HR team leader for planning and employment, said that several companies and universities forged agreements regarding different employment training programmes, all to benefit the students.

Yusuf said, they value their industry’s contribution to the improvement of graduates. He said “we do encourage the recent graduates to take on training programmes. The training might extend 3 to 6 months and even up to two years especially for engineering trainees” but having the said training can actually result to getting absorbed.

For Faizza al Hadabi, a nurse from Al Musanah Health Centre, having seen their company absorbed four students as regular nurses after they had their training at the clinic was an indication that chances of getting absorbed while training is high especially to some specialised fields.

Najla al Alawi, one of the Counselling Student Centre members, Sur College, said “training programmes are useful” so she would really advice students to take the training especially during their vacation periods to earn more experience and skills.

In Sur College, Najla shared they are on the second year of launching a promotion exhibition to help address the needs of their students for information of how they can smoothly navigate and transition to joining the professional workforce. She said the promotion exhibition is also open to students from other universities.

We do encourage the recent graduates to take on training programmes. The training might extend 3 to 6 months and even up to two years especially for engineering trainees.”

YUSUF AL BADI Oman Drydock Company

HR Team Leader