One hundred and ninety-five Omani jobseekers are being employed as welders on PDO’s Rabab Harweel integrated oil and gas mega project, following their graduation to the highest international standard on its international welding programme
The recruits have successfully completed 20 months’ training and are taking up positions with two of the company’s main contractors, CCC and Al Turki Enterprises.
The PDO-funded vocational training scheme combines theory and practice and qualifies trainees up to 6G level – the most advanced – which is recognised by international accreditation bodies such as The Welding Institute (TWI) and the American Welding Society, enabling participants to work in the welding field in the oil and gas sector anywhere in the world. The recruits underwent their training at the RAY Skills Development’s Halban workshop in Muscat, with another 200 scheduled to begin the next 6G course soon.
The 6G programme offers an enhanced financial and retention package for participants and is the first in the region to have a TWI-accredited centre outside the UK. The aim is for the programme to serve as a benchmark for the entire oil and gas sector and other industries in the Sultanate. PDO managing director Raoul Restucci said, “We are immensely proud that we have been able to help these young men progress into fulfilling careers as welders, starting with our mega project at Rabab Harweel, which is of vital strategic importance to the nation.
“This is another success story for our National Objectives programme which is all about creating meaningful and rewarding training and employment opportunities for Omanis.”
The programme has so far generated around 20,000 training and job opportunities since 2011 in various fields covering mechanical, electrical engineering, instrumentation, the installation of scaffolding, carpentry and blacksmithing.
The rest of this article can be found in the latest issue of Oil Review Middle East:http://oilreviewmiddleeast.com/magazine/current-issue
