The participants in the first group of the ‘National Leadership Programme to Upskill and Empower the Potential Omanis for Middle and Senior Leadership Positions in the Private Sector’ (Etimad) from different private sector companies have concluded their journey in the leadership training programme.

Etimad aims to empower and upskill Omanis so they can take over middle and senior positions in the private sector using the leadership skills they acquired from the programme.

The first group of Batch One has concluded their training, by smoothly transitioning from classroom training to virtual training, using the interactive e-learning techniques in cooperation with local and international training partners. 

With regards to the training programme, Dr Yasmin Bint Shanan al Balushi, Project Manager of Etimad, praised the efforts of the participants and their enthusiasm and achievements made in the programme. She said, “The programme’s graduates will be followed up with for at least six months after their graduation as a part of the programme’s responsibility. Specialised follow-up sessions will be provided for each graduate, immediately after the end of the training period. Follow-ups will be conducted through face-to-face or virtual meetings, using available technological tools. The follow-up period will last for up to 12 months after the participant has completed the training programme in Etimad.”

The programme included presentations of Action Learning Projects (ALP) submitted by the participants through the interactive e-learning system. They were evaluated by the global partners Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), in addition to a number of local panelists from the relevant sectors.

Simon Karam, general manager of Sarooj Construction Company and one of the panelists for the construction and building sector, noted, “The Etimad programme is a real opportunity for the national manpower to work as a team, in which members can listen to each other, innovate and come up with an integrated idea, listen to constructive criticism, and proceed towards implementing their ideas.”

Dr Khalid al Balushi, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Oman Tourism College and a panelist for the tourism sector, added, “Being part of the projects’ evaluation committee in the tourism sector, I interacted with many of the participants; and the extent of creativity and accuracy shown in such projects qualified them for immediate and commercial application. I think that the Etimad programme is a multi-dimensional scientific platform that was able to refine the talents of all the participants in a relatively short time.”

With regards to the jury experience, Ahmed al Ghafri, Chief Support Officer at Mazoon Dairy and a panel member representing the food industry sector, stated, “What I found astounding about the experience was the team spirit of the groups, which is essential for the success of any organisation as well as the ability to identify and analyse problems, gather information and engage stakeholders. Many project ideas are ready to be developed as viable future investment projects that can grow and prosper.”

It is worth noting that the Etimad Programme comes within the outputs of the Labor Market and Employment Sector laboratory in the National Program for Enhancing Economic Diversification (Tanfeedh), and the Ministry of Manpower oversees the programme’s implementation while the Implementation Support and Follow-up Unit supports and follows up with the progress of the initiative.