Implementation of HM Royal directives begins

Muscat: In implementation of the Royal directives of His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik, the Supreme Commander, on expediting the execution of employment initiatives, the Ministry of Defence will on Thursday begin to receive job seekers who meet conditions set for recruitment at the Sultan’s Armed Forces (SAF).

The jobs will be announced in succession by the Royal Army of Oman, the Royal Air Force of Oman, the Royal Navy of Oman and other administrations of the Defence Ministry.

The Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (ASMED) has also urged SME owners and entrepreneurs to take advantage of the on-the-job training initiative signed by ASMED with the Ministry of Labour.

Business owners are encouraged to register their establishments’ data and benefit from training programmes to help support their establishments. The initiative provides training for 3,000 Omani job seekers.

The initiative’s subsidy, offered through the Labour Ministry, includes bearing the monthly training dues.

Accordingly, the first year covers 100 percent of the bursary payable to trainees as follows: bachelor’s degree holders will receive OMR500 a month, university diploma holders OMR400 a month and general education diploma (GED) holders OMR300 a month. In the second year, the Ministry bears 50 percent of the training grant.

ASMED explained that on-the-job training packages offered to SMEs have been launched in the Sultanate in response to SMEs demands to receive subsidised-pay.

The packages also aim to provide employment for the largest segment of job seekers and earn them the required vocational skills.

The initiative is offered to all owners of SMEs. The job seekers will be selected either from the registers of the Ministry of Labour, or through SMEs’ nomination of those deemed fit for employment.

The government is also pressing ahead with its Appointment and Replacement Programme, which generates as many as 12,000 jobs for Omanis as specified in the Employment Plan 2021, said a government official today, noting that the placements will be made at a rate of 1,000 jobs a month, until the end of this year, in the government sector’s civil and military services.