As per government’s directives to support SMEs and provide job opportunities to Omani youth, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) to train 200 job seekers for two years.
The programme will guide the trainees to set up businesses in the telecommunications sector. This initiative aims to Omanise jobs in the last mile connectivity (LMC) services, which are now occupied by untrained non-Omanis which contributes to unemployment levels among Omanis.
Additionally, the number of companies offering services has created an unhealthy competition by lowering prices beyond a sustainable level for well-established businesses to survive. Also, there has been very little regulation in the LMC sector, which has affected the quality of services provided.
Dr Hamed al Rawahi, executive president of TRA, stressed, “The LMC programme is a great example of the way we should look to work in the ICT sector projects as we move towards the future of Oman. This is a programme that is designed and developed by Omanis, for the benefit of Omanis.”
Raoul Restucci, managing director of PDO, said, “We are determined to sustain our efforts to create employment and business opportunities for job seekers in a variety of economic sectors including telecommunications. By joining forces with trusted partners, such as the TRA, we aim not only to create job opportunities for young Omanis, but also to equip them with the tools and skill sets which will empower them to start their own businesses.”
Omar al Qatabi, chairman of the project steering committee, said, “This project is very ambitious as it would open new opportunities for many SMEs in the telecom industry directly with the licensed operators and would open the opportunity for job seekers.”
The first phase of the project started in early 2018, in which, several concerned stakeholders including the telecom operators, Oman Development Bank, the National Business Centre, Riyada, and others worked jointly to develop a strategic framework and governance policies to regulate LMC services and to accelerate national development of Omanis.
Source: https://muscatdaily.com/Archive/Oman/TRA-PDO-ink-pact-to-fund-training-of-200-job-seekers-5cov