Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has unveiled a significant new employment commitment by sponsoring the training of more than 2,000 young Omanis to work in sectors outside the oil and gas industry.

The company has signed four agreements with partners with the aim of providing employment opportunities through training for employment, direct hire, redeployment and on-job training. These included the Information Technology Authority (ITA), Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Madayn), Oman Food Investment Holding Company SAOC (OFIC) and the Omani Authority for Partnership for Development (OAPFD).

The signees will support the creation of full-time jobs for the trainees in a variety of sectors, including operations, information technology, accountancy and a range of other technical and administrative trades.

The Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed at the annual Ministry of Oil and Gas Media Briefing event held under the auspices of HE Eng. Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil and Gas.

PDO Managing Director Raoul Restucci, who signed the MoUs with the organisations, said, “These MoUs are a great example of how we are collaborating with valued partners to drive forward the national job creation agenda.

“PDO is dedicated to supporting the Sultanate’s economy and we are committed to extending our job creation efforts and diversifying our support beyond our boundaries to other economic sectors. One of the areas we are now focusing on is information technology especially in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which holds great potential for enhancing performance and securing more efficient ways of working.”

PDO has pledged to create 21,000 job opportunities for Omanis this year. Its National Objectives programme targets continue to rise and the company has already created more than 55,000 job, training, transfer, and redeployment opportunities for Omanis in both the oil and non-oil sectors, such as hospitality, real estate, fashion, tourism and aviation, since its launch in 2011.