Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has signed an agreement with The Research Council to conduct research on the overall impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) on jobs in the oil and gas sector through Ejaad, the platform to boost R&D collaboration between industry and academia in Oman.

The study will explore the effect of 4IR on employment trends, stable, emerging and declining roles and job opportunities over the next five to ten years in PDO and its direct contractor community. The study, which is made up of three phases, is aimed to be concluded by end of the year (2019).

Phased study

The first phase of the study will identify and map out potential jobs that will be eliminated, developed or created due to the use of different 4IR technologies within PDO and its contractors.

The second and third phases will then focus on building the Company’s competency framework for emerging jobs as well as provide capability building proposals, recommendations and implementation plans in relation to the current and future workforce of PDO and its contractors.

Ejaad Director Dr Abdullah Al Abri said, “We are delighted to sign this consultancy agreement with PDO to look at the promising upside of 4IR into PDO’s business portfolio and potential implications on jobs and associated competency development programmes.”