Sultanate of Ministry of Manpower An overview of Technical and Vocational Education and Training in the Sultanate of Oman

THE 12TH MEETING OF THE COMCEC POVERTY ALLEVIATION WORKING GROUP October 4th, 2018 Ankara, Turkey “Skills Development in the OIC: Vocational Education”

1 Presentation contents

1 Introduction; Demographics of the Sultanate of Oman

2 The National Program for Economic Diversification

3 Overview of the TVET Governance Structure

4 Technological Education

5 Private Vocational Training Providers

6 Vocational Education and Training

7 Key characteristics of the current TVET system

8 Occupational Standards and Testing and

9 Areas of Further Cooperation

2 1. Introduction:

309,500 sq km (119,499 sq Area miles).

Population (Omanis) 2,597, 076 millions 29 September 2018

Official language Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Humid coastal areas, hot and dry desert, monsoon Climate climate in Salalah from June to September. The Arabian Sea

A diverse range of Geography topography; mountains, Deserts, costal areas etc.

3 Pyramid in the Sultanate of Oman in 2017

4 2. The National Program for Economic Diversification

“The diversification of the economy, the development of the human skills, the effective exploitation of the available natural resources, and the creation of the suitable conditions to encourage the private sector to perform a greater role in the growth of the national economy – all this will lessen our dependence on oil.”

Speech of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said on the occasion of the – 29th National Day

. Started as a pillar in 2020 objective plan. . It aims to contribute to achievement of Oman’s economic diversification vision by accelerating implementations. . The labor lab and initiatives focus and are divided under . A. Unlocking Demand: laws, Policies, and systems . B. Strengthening supply: human Resource Development . C. Coordination of Demand and supply 3. An Overview of TVET Governance in the Sultanate of Oman

Ministry of manpower

Technological Private Training Education Vocational Education Providers and Training

(

*Musandam technological college soon 4. Technological Education

Total Students enrolled Shinas till 2017 Musanna Males Females Ibra Nizwa

20,145 18,234 Ibri

Total 38,379 Salalah Specializations offered by the Colleges of Technology (CTs)

Number of Program specializations

Engineering 15

Information 7 Technology Business studies 7 Applied Science 6 Fashion Design 1 Photography 1 Pharmacy 1 Total 38

6 Students’ Progression at the Colleges of Technology

Year 4 On the Job BTech (Professional) Labor Training Market 8-12 Weeks GPA ≥ 2.75 +IELTS 4.5 Advanced Year 3 GPA < 2.75 On the Job Labor Diploma Market Training (Technologist) 8-12 Weeks GPA ≥ 2.5+ IELTS 4 GPA < 2.5 On the Job Diploma Labor Year 1+Year 2 Training (Skilled Market 8-12 Weeks Technician)

Foundation Program

7 5. Private Training Providers

. The Ministry of Manpower also oversees the provision of training by the private sector.

. Four types of recognized training providers which are : training institutes, training centers, training units and offices providing training services.

Offices of Training Training Training Training Units Institutes Centers Services Classification of Private Training Providers in 2017

Institutes’ Classification

Classification of Offices Training Training Center Units Administrative / Technical/ services Craftsman Institutes Business Industrial

Number of 16 17 146 180 Institutes

Total 359 Registered Private Vocational Training Certifications till 2017.

Classification of program Number of registered certifications

industrial 2863

crafts 1034

Commercial 4143

National programs 97

IT 3066

languages 7150

Training services 4114

Training offices providers 12914

Total 35381

12 613.Vocational Education and Training

Shinas’s VTC Saham’s VTC Al-Buraemi’s VTC

Al-Khaboura’s VCMS

Al-Seeb’s VTC

Ibri’s VTC

Sur’s VTC

VTC

VCMS

Salalah’s VTC

8 Major Specializations at VTCs (They include 24 sub-specializations) Major Specializations at VCMS ( They include 7 sub- specializations) Vocational Education & Training Pathways

Training Programs General Vocational Education Apprenticeship Pathway Vocational Diploma Pathway Pathway Diploma Pathway

Other higher Educational Passing any level qualifies Institutes or the labor for the labour market or Labor market or Market self development or Passing any level qualifies for Vocational Diploma community service the labor market or perusing vocational or Academic Pathway Vocational Diploma Education )Two Years Specialization( • For job seekers General Education Diploma or • Upgrading and General Foundation an Equivalent Program skills Level 3 development

Higher Education Admission • Community Grade 11 Vocational development Level 2 Center

• Persons with special needs General Education Diploma or an Level 1 Grade 10 Vocational Equivalent

Age group 18-60 Grade 9 and above Grade 9 and above General Education 7.Key Characteristics of the Current TVET System

The Current TVET System can be characterized to be: • Horizontal and Vertical Progress of entries. • Caters for different entry levels and skills. • Caters for different special needs. • Demand specific. • Gov & private sector funding (NTF) • Future planning (fourth industrial revoluation) Oman Society for Petroleum Services Apprenticeship Pathway Model

• Introduced in September 2017. • A coordination between three stakeholders (the college, OPAL and EAL) • It consists of 6 levels (2 academic years) • It aims to qualify the national manpower to work in oil and gas companies. 8. Occupational Standards and Testing

Occupational standards encompasses the competences required for an occupation which in turn inform curriculum development by learning outcome approaches.

• 2002 Assigned German agency for international cooperation to prepare a study on the feasibility of setting up a center for Occupational Standards and Tests.

• 2013 development of 60 occupational standards in collaboration with German experts (GIZ) to be implemented in vocational training centers’ curricula.

• 2014 collaboration with Bremen University; ( ITB ) institute to design framework for the development of advanced detailed curricula based on the advanced occupational standards , train Omani trainers and conduct workshops on curriculum development . • 2016-present updating occupational standards in liaison with sectors representatives and contributed in implementation of apprenticeship in Seeb vocational college. The Completed S. No. The Occupational Fields Occupational Standards 1 IT Services 3 2 Computer Aided Draughting 4 3 Travel & Tourism 2 4 Sales 3 5 Hospitality 4 6 Agriculture 4 7 Poultry 2 8 Media Technology 4 9 Mechanical 5 10 AC & Refrigeration 3 11 Drivers 1 12 Automotive 4 13 Electrical 3 14 Electronic 4 15 Carpentry 1 16 Construction 7 17 Fisheries 3 18 Tailoring 3 Number of completed work 60 The Ministry of Manpower welcomes bilateral cooperation in the fields of Technological and Vocational Education and Training such as:

• Curriculum Development • Occupational Standards Development • Training of Trainer • Quality Assurance • Exchange of experiences in TVET Sultanate of Oman Ministry of Manpower

Thank you Streaming of Vocational Education and Training and Technological Education onto Occupational The LinkLevels between

Vocational Training and Occupational Levels

Education Education

T echnological

Professional Labormarket

Technician

Vocational graduates graduates

Skilled

Semi Skilled

The MoMP approaches the technician and the craftsman level from a different prospective that is relevant to the current Omani context.