National Leadership Training Programme for Omani students launched

Muscat: To build the capacity of Omani school children and college students through experiential learning, Oman Sail and Omani Authority for Partnership for Development (OAPFD) on Sunday launched the Zimam National Leadership Programme .
The initial pilot programme was announced at a press conference held at Grand Hyatt Hotel today in the presence of Dr. Muna bint Salim Al Jardaniya, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Manpower for Vocational Training and Technical Education, Dr. Hamoud bin Khalfan Al Harthy, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for Education and Curricula, John Wilks, British Ambassador to the Sultanate, David Graham, CEO of Oman Sail and Dr. Dhafir al-Shanfari, OAPFD CEO.
The press conference discussed the vital role the programme will have in developing the confidence, leadership, decision-making and problem-solving skills of young Omanis as they prepare for the next stage of their life. Upon the success of the pilot programme, a wider syllabus has been developed to be rolled out enabling Omani children to undertake a full leadership development pathway throughout their school and college careers and help to build the leaders of Oman’s future.
The new partnership between OAPFD and Oman Sail will take 900 male and female students from seven government schools and five colleges in the Governorates of North and South Al Batinah and train them in groups and as individuals using Oman Sail’s proven Corporate Personal Development programme.
The schools’ programme will take grade eight students from government schools close to Al Mussan'aa for a 2-day course to develop teamwork, communication and confidence, while the course for college students will be a 3-day residential course focused on discipline, responsibility, problem-solving and career planning, and delivered to students from Al Mussan'aa, A'Rustaq, Shinas, Sohar and Oman Tourism College.
The Programme will be one of the Youth Skills Development Programmes (YSDP) sponsored by OAPFD, which aims to reach a wider target group from school and college students, job seekers, and government employees and bring international knowledge and expertise in building the national Human Resources Capacity. This is done by providing students with a platform to develop their day-to-day performance, work ethics, soft and hard skills, and boosting participant enthusiasm to learn and develop.