Muscat: Since the launch of the third edition of “Naqla”, a program under the Economic Pillar of the Group’s Sustainability Policy, Nama Group developed the program to empower the national workforce in the Electricity Sector and upgrade the capabilities and skills of Omani professional cadres.

The Group continues to train the participants in the program to obtain electrical licenses and support electrical technicians to establish and manage SMEs and increase Omanization rates in the Sector.

The program reflects the Group’s commitment to boost the In-Country-Value (ICV) in supporting the sustainability aspect among the local community and contributing to the National Economy.

The training is conducted by Numo Institute for Competency Development, a member of Nama Group, which built an integrated educational platform for the program that includes all training curricula and activities.

The program started on 6 October this year and expected to end on 15 December 2020.

It is presented to 125 participants, distributed into four training batches based on the project approved plan for 2020. Two batches successfully concluded the training part, waiting for the final exam, as the two remaining batches commenced the training and will do the exam in December this year.

Despite the current situation regarding the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), Nama Group developed the program to be conducted virtually this year, using the latest communication tools and technologies, after the achievements made in the project in the previous years.

The program presents various topics, essential to improve the technician skills; including: Electricity Sector Understanding, Power System Engineering, Oman Electrical Standard 4, and Soft skills (interviewing skills).

The program covered both theoretical and practical aspects that provide the necessary skills and knowledge to meet the requirements of field and technical work in dealing with electricity and the applicable laws and regulations. The practical training represented site visits, taking into consideration the precautionary procedures to avoid spreading Covid-19.

The program was designed to target electrical technicians (High Diploma and Bachelor’s degree holders in electrical engineering or equivalent) of various educational institutions from all the Sultanate Governorates.

The main objectives of the program include providing the trainees with a set of skills required in the labor market, training them on professional skills that will help them build their career path. The program also aims at qualifying the trainees for work environments to keep pace with the labor market changes, as well as empowering them and enhancing their roles in building the society.

As per the project plan, Nama Group is moving forward towards increasing the percentage of licensed Omani electrical technicians from 9 per cent to 20 per cent up to 2023 by training 625 technicians in electrical connections.

The project also intends to increase direct employment opportunities to 75 per cent, and provide opportunities to establish SMEs by 15 per cent of the total number of trainees who will obtain the electrical licenses.

Those interested in the project can follow the program updates and learn more about the project on social media platforms.