Muscat – The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) launched a national initiative – Makeen – on Tuesday to train 10,000 Omanis in the digital sector by 2025.

The launch ceremony was held under the patronage of H E Dr Said bin Mohammed al Saqri, Minister of Economy, as part of the activities marking Muscat being named Arab Digital Capital 2022.

The initiative aims to train national workforce in new skills in the field of communications and information technology and enable Omani youth to earn their livelihood in the digital sector.

“As one of the ministry’s objectives in the Tenth Five-Year Plan, through partnership with a group of leading local and international educational institutions in the ICT sector, the initiative will contribute to supplying the labour market with trained national workforce keeping pace with the rapid changes in the business environment and technical competencies required in the market,” H E Dr Ali bin Amer al Shidhani, Undersecretary for Communications and Information Technology in MTCIT, said.

According to H E Shidhani, the initiative seeks to create competition among Omani youth for businesses that require advanced digital skills, bridge the gap between curriculum and the needs of the labour market, and build strategic and sustainable partnerships with leading international institutions in the field of digital qualification and training.

Makeen includes several training programmes such as technical camps, which are six-month intensive practical training modules that focus on programming and advanced technologies – artificial intelligence, data science and software engineering.

The initiative also includes an advanced skills programme, which will prepare workers to benefit from local and international freelance platforms, qualifying them in areas such as data science, digital marketing, programming and digital product management.

Additionally, the ministry has signed several memoranda of understanding and cooperation with specialist companies to establish an electronic platform for Makeen, provide training courses in Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, conduct professional certification programmes, and provide the infrastructure necessary to develop technical solutions.

Women’s initiative

MTCIT also announced the launch of a training programme for women to enhance their participation in the fields of communications and IT and develop their capabilities in the sector.

It will be implemented in cooperation with Huawei, Oman Liquefied Natural Gas Company, Ministry of Social Development, and Ministry of Education.