Although the oil industry has been in existence in the Sultanate of Oman for the past twenty five years and has been the main stay of the sultanate's economy, its operations have remained for the best part of the time mainly in the hands of well trained and experienced expatriates. Inevitably this was necessary at the beginning, especially with the more technical and complex projects and operations. A very brief table-top survey shows that service contractors working for Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) employ some eight thousand and a half people. Again, a rough analysis shows that approximately 50% of this work force is expatriate. Jobs in the oil industry where contractors are employed vary from plant operators, mechanical and electrical technicians, welders, plumbers and carpenters. In the past, contractors and indeed most of the employers in the sultanate, complained that young Omanis shunned almost all industrial jobs. Many and varying reasons were given. When the period in questioned is seriously analysed, it would be clear to any thinking man that the main reason for rejection of such jobs was due to high expectations of the young people. Moreover, the high expectations were well within reach of many of those young people, given opportunities to gain the necessary knowledge and skills. While those opportunities were plentiful there was little hope that young people would go into industrial manual work by choice. Circumstances, however, have changed considerably. Today there are many more young Omanis chasing few scholarships and other opportunities for 'professional' careers.  In order to give maximum assistance to the contractors working in the oil and gas industry, late in 1994 PDO embarked on the concept of setting up an oil industry training board. The concept was developed to the point where it was necessary to solicit support from the Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals. To that end a presentation was made to the Ministry on 6 May 1995 followed by a letter on 20 June 1995 (attachment 1) seeking positive support. Such support was obtained in a letter from the Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals (attachment 2) in which it also mentioned support from the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour.

 To develop an industry-wide training initiative which will bring significant benefits to the oil and gas industry as a whole and at the same time help to meet the Government objectives in terms of Omanisation and job creation. The intention is for the Board's training and administrative section to work within the existing infrastructure in the Sultanate and to work closely with, and interpret accurately policies emanating from, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs as well as the Vocational Training Authority.

 To form an oil industry training board composed of representatives from the contractors in order to serve the whole industry principally in training matters. To Omanise through the board, semi-skilled and skilled personnel within the industry by the provision of effective training programmes using existing training institutes. To agree on standards required by the industry in terms of training and Omanising and to install the necessary quality assurance mechanisms. To liaise with relevant Ministerial Authorities on behalf of the oil and gas industry on matters of mutual concern such as training levy and rebate systems.

The Board was constituted late December 1995. Board members were agreed and the first Board meeting was held on 27 January 1996 and it was agreed that the final composition of the Board should be as follows:

Four full time personnel will work for the Board, one of whom is the executive manager. He is also the secretary to the Board as per the Constitution (attachment 3). The four personnel will form the administration office and execute the decisions reached at the Board meetings. The executive manager also manages the administration and finances of the office. The office business is being funded by Petroleum Development Oman for 1996 and 1997. The Board will have to decide on future funding.

 Board meetings have already been held; long term vision and short term objectives have been discussed and adopted. The Board's vision is stated thus "To provide a range of services to member companies to train and develop an effective Omani work force for the industry". A two-year plan of activities and objectives to be achieved was also discussed and accepted by the Board. The plan is: - To finalize the constitution and organization of the Board - To recruit and induct the administration staff - To establish procedures and systems - To establish and manage training programmes - To agree policies for recruitment, training, employing and developing Omanis - To conduct an extensive training needs analysis for the sector - To review the quality of all significant training institutes in the Sultanate - To establish programmes for improving skills of existing Omani staff

 The Board decided at its first meeting that six Board Meetings would be held in 1996. Each meeting would last two hours approximately. * The Board's Constitution has been discussed and adopted. * The two-year activity plan has been accepted and the manager for the manager to execute * Training needs survey has been carried out * Significant Training Institutes have been evaluated * An indication of trainee requirement for 1996/97 is available * Trainees for 1996 are being recruited for the institutes to train specifically for the oil and gas sector of the industry.

 The administration section of OITB will assist companies in the recruitment of trainees. The focus is on the selection process which is considered to be a critical area of the whole project. Another function of OITB is testing and interviewing prospective candidates before streamlining successful ones into disciplines in accordance with the aptitude and capability displayed in the tests. OITB administration section will also assist in the training process itself. They will select appropriate institutes for specific training programmes. They will monitor the training programmes and assessments and provide feedback to the companies. They will monitor trainee progress and take appropriate action when performance is poor. OITB will assist companies in the development of their trainees including advice for on-the-job training and competence assessment.