Muscat – The National Employment Programme (NEP) on Tuesday signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) with Al Awalim Company (Bara’ah Academy) to develop skills of citizens in the field of design.

The MoC targets graduates majoring in disciplines such as architecture, interior design and graphic design. The academy offers specialised training courses for graduates in their respective specialisations.

The MoC was signed by Khalid Salim al Ghammari, head of Capacity Building at NEP, and Said Sultan al Shidhani, CEO of Al Bara’ah Academy.

The MoC aims to train and qualify Omani design graduates through courses such as industrial and commercial design, product design, analytical services for lighting and energy, furniture and jewellery design, among others.

According to Ghammari, the agreement is part of NEP’s efforts to qualify Omani youth and train them for technological developments in different sectors to be ready for the labour market.

“The MoC will achieve several objectives, including develop the capabilities of participants and develop their ideas at all stages of designing to suit the Omani labour market. It aims also to facilitate guidance from experts and specialists and partnerships with local, regional and international bodies, ” Ghammari said.

NEP also recently signed an agreement with Mazoon Electricity Company and the Industrial Innovation Academy to implement an initiative titled ‘Augmenting local content in the energy sector’.

The agreement seeks to enhance cooperation among the three parties to fulfil the requirement of local manpower in the energy sector and empower Omani small and medium enterprises operating in the sector.