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Figure (4)

Licensing Areas

 

 

Licensing stages of private training institutions

 The association with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to render licensing applications of private training institutions (construction) began on 31/12/2017, to carry out the following:

• Investors in the field of training apply for a license for practicing training work through the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (invest easy portal), after reviewing the requirements, filling out the application form, attaching all the required documents and paying the fees. Then the application is dispatched and after verification at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, it reaches the Ministry of Manpower to undergo the stages of checking the documents submitted, and then a visit is paid to the headquarters to ensure that the application meets the basic criteria for the establishment of a special training institution, according to the type of license required, and then it is finally approved by the Ministry of Manpower.

• The private training institution will start the implementation of the training activity after the approval of its administrative and training staff, the certification of training activities, in accordance with the following mechanisms:

​- The mechanism of accreditation of the administrative and training staff: The administrative and training staff shall be accredited in accordance with the regulations mentioned in the bylaw of the private training institutions.    

- Program Accreditation Mechanism: Programs shall be approved in accordance with the applicable regulations by specialties and after meeting all program requirements.

• On completion of the training activity, the training certificates are approved, provided that the trainees are registered in the system so that the competent officer can match the name of the trainee from the ID card and training certificate with the electronic system.

Supervision and field follow-up of training activities implemented in private training institutions:

Technical supervision and training quality assurance are carried out in order to ensure the proper implementation of training activities, through various field visits

Types of field visits to private training institutions:

1. Licensing visit :

It is paid to grant a license to a new private training institution

2.  Evaluation and Follow-up visits

Shall be paid on regular basis to private training institutions, in accordance with a program prepared in advance to evaluate and follow up the private training institution, in terms of management documents, material and human resources, training plan, curricula, tests and evaluation.

3. Counseling visits:

Such visits are paid at the request of the private training institution for the purpose of guidance.

4. Classification visits:

The purpose such visits is to determine the classification category of the private training institution as shown in the following table:

 

Table (5)

Identification of Private Training Institutions` Classification Category

 

 

 

This is carried out through careful evaluation according to the classification form prepared by the Directorate for this purpose, as follows:

Figure (5)

 

 

Figure (6)

Steps of licensing a private training institution

 

 

 

 

 

Fourth: Occupational Standards and Testing Center

As per the Royal Directives to pay more attention to the training and qualification of the national human resources and due to the rapid growth of the labor market’s activities and sectors, necessity has arisen to establish a specialized center to draft occupational standards for the different vocational skill levels, to contribute to regulating the Omani labor market and supplying it with competent resources. Work has commenced to draft a set of occupational standards for a number of vocations, which are prioritized in the vocational training programs. This was carried out through coordination with a global think tank (The German International Cooperation Agency, GIZ) from 2005 until 2011(The consultancy period) to design the structural hierarchy of the center and identify its requirements for human resources. 

In 2011, the ministerial order no. (76/2011) was issued, stipulating the establishment of the occupational standards and tests center to be in charge of developing the occupational standards system for all vocations across the different skill levels. It also plans and manages the vocational competency tests system with the aim of improving the production and services performance of  enterprises and improve performance of manpower. It also develops vocational and technical training programs and curricula, and trains the participants using advanced scientific methods. Given the importance of the center, in terms of developing a comprehensive system for occupational standards and tests in Oman to serve as a reference for the development process of governmental and private sectors as well as for education and training institutions, it was affiliated directly under the Ministry’s undersecretary for Technological Education and Vocational Training. The center is made up of six main departments:

1. Advanced occupational standards department.
2. Testing and diploma department.
3. Trainee counseling and guidance department.
4. Vocational and industrial relation department
5. Labor market and training research department.
6. Finance and administrative affairs department.

 

Requirements of Occupational standards Development:

The Vocational training and education system in Oman, which largely resembles the applicable systems in many countries around the world and especially those with extensive experience in this arena, has sought to produce a competent and highly-skilled national cadre across the different sectors and in line with the primary education and general education system. This system aims at providing trainees with a secure career path, based on the actual needs of the job market for technical and vocational manpower. The focus that was channeled to the on-the-job aspect more than the theoretical one came with the view of delivering outcomes which match the needs of the labor market for workers. The persistent need for occupational, national standards can be explained by the following factors:

1. The increasing complexity in the work environment.
2. The rapid growth of all types of economic activities, due to the information and technology revolution in the developed countries, which deeply rippled into the developing countries, reducing the information and skills acquired by individuals acquire and the ongoing need for employees development and progress in various vocational fields.
3. The emergence of new vocations due to the rapid technological advancement.

 Occupational Standards Concept and its Development Methodologies

The occupational standards, as agreed upon by most definitions, is “an accurate and clear standard description of the competences (know-how, skills, trends, and behaviors) that the incumbent should have to skillfully fulfill the tasks with the results of the mastered performance being identified.” As such, occupational standards represent the regulations that govern the preparation, employment, and movement processes of manpower, making them necessary.

Sometimes, occupational standards are taken for job description. The latter, however, is only a component of the former, if not the main one. The job description is a detailed description of the tasks and duties that the incumbent should fulfill, listing the conditions necessary for the job, such as academic and professional qualifications and the vocational category and field. The occupational standards, however, present a wider description of the occupation, including the following elements (some change can be expected based on the methodology used to produce the standards):

• Duties and tasks of the occupation.
• The required competences, know-how, skills, trends, and behaviors.
• Implementation steps.
• Implementation tools and equipment.
• Relevant safety and security laws and regulations.
• Training methodology and standards (in some methodologies).

There are several methodologies to be adopted to develop the occupational standards. They differ in terms of work mechanisms and the goals to be attained by developing  the standards in the concerned country, and as per the priorities identified by decision-makers. The most common and important methodologies are the following:

1. Functional Analysis Methodology.
2. Dacum Methodology
3. Work Process Analysis

The last is the most recent and the one the Ministry of Manpower and the Occupational Standards and Testing Center adopted to develop 60 occupational standards for a number of vocations across the different skill levels. Further developed was a set of 10 tests, as seen in the table below.

 

Table (7)

Occupational Standards and Fields

 

Number	Vocational Field	Number of occupational standards	Number of occupational tests
1	IT services	3	-
2	Engineering drawing using computers	4	-
3	Travel and Tourism	2	-
4	Sales	3	-
5	Hospitality	4	2
6	Agriculture	4	-
7	Livestock	2	-
8	Media technology	4	-
9	Mechanical Services	5	2
10	Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning	3	2
11	Drivers	1	-
12	Vehicles	4	1
13	Electricity	3	2
14	Electronics	4	-
15	Carpentry	1	1
16	Constructions	7	-
17	Fisheries	3	-
18	Sewing	3	-
Total		60	10

 

The occupational standards methodology has recently been updated to keep abreast of the requirements of the current phase. The Center has developed a new set of occupational standards for the oil and gas sector in cooperation with the Oman Petroleum Services society (OPAL). In this context, several technical workshops were organized with the participation of more than 165 experts concerned and more than 30 business sites of several companies for have been visited for the same purpose.

Occupational standards have been developed for seven professional fields:

• Welding and manufacturing.

• Occupational Safety and Health.

• Lift and unload operations.

• Engineering maintenance and installation of electrical and mechanical equipment.

• Maintenance of buildings and facilities.

• Engineering of mechanical industries.

• Specialization management of engineering clients.

•Drilling and excavation.

Coordination is underway with other sectors to develop occupational standards such as the automotive sector represented by the National College of Automotive Technology and the Logistics Sector represented by the ASYAD Group.