Muscat- The Diwan of Royal Court on Sunday held an event to mark the conclusion of Al Shabab Scheme as part of the National Youth Program for Skills Development.
The event was held under the patronage H E Sayyid Khalid bin Hilal bin Saud al Busaidi, Minister of the Diwan of Royal Court.
“Al Shabab Scheme targeted Omanis aged between 18 and 29 years and aimed to have a large 4th Industrial Revolution-ready community. As many as 1,000 Omanis participated in this programme for a year working on 35 projects for the job market,” said Qais Rashid al Tobi from the Office of Advisor for Studies and Research, Diwan of Royal Court and supervisor of the programme.
He said that the scheme aimed to unlock potential of participants while creating awareness on the opportunities that the new technologies present.
Speaking on the occasion, H E Sayyid Khalid said, “The National Youth Program for Skills Development has the blessing of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said as a cornerstone of national development. The Diwan of Royal Court is directing all efforts and resources necessary for implementation of His Majesty the Sultan’s directive.
“Omani youths have demonstrated their potential in understanding the nuances of 4th Industrial Revolution and emerging technologies that can contribute to strengthen the national economy.”
Dr Ali bin Qasim Jawad, Advisor for Studies and Research at the Diwan of Royal Court, said, “The programme has succeeded in developing projects that have received funding from local authorities. They will soon leave their mark in various sectors.
“The participants collaborated with leading international institutions in the technology sector on emerging technology projects and 4th Industrial Revolution such as the Udacity, Google and Seedstars as well as leading universities such as EPFL, Firetech and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.”
The projects
Speaking to Muscat Daily, Fatima Kamel Abdullah, one of the participating entrepreneurs, said, “We have gained considerable experience from local experts and businessmen. Our ideas have become projects and ready to enter the job market.”
“My project is called Jadwal. It is an online platform for adventure tourism activities in Oman that gathers local groups and professionals in the field. The aim is to digitise booking services and emerge as the sole platform for adventure seekers and enthusiasts looking for an extraordinary experience in Oman. It will provide solutions such as transport service, equipment, connecting them with services of their liking.
“It will act as database for local tour and adventure operators to market their services and upcoming activities. Jadwal has started as a website and would ultimately develop an application using AI. We are targeting GCC nationals and international tourists.”
Another participant, Abdul Rahman Nasser al Jalandani, said, “I am very happy to participate in this programme. It helped me to work on my idea Syartech to become a real project. Syartech is a mobile application aiming to facilitate car wash service in cooperation with service stations.
“Syartech application will benefit both the parties. For example, service providers can use motorcycle to reach customers and use chemicals for washing rather than water.
“We want to expand our business in the GCC and offer other services like car rental, car sale and spare parts sale.”
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