● SOHAR Summer Programme now in its sixth year
● The initiative has supported over 1,300 local youngsters
● Curriculum includes English, computer science, photography and robotics
Initiated by SOHAR Port and Freezone and now in its sixth year, the SOHAR Summer Programme was developed under the supervision of the Directorate General of Education in the Governorate of North Al Batinah and is held annually in partnership with the Ministry of Education. Over the next three weeks, the Programme will accommodate over 300 students from Suhar, and the nearby province of Liwa and will help them to enhance their knowledge of English and arm them with practical skills they will need to help increase their employment prospects in the future. The rapid industrialisation that is driving growth in SOHAR is creating many new opportunities for young, local talents equipped with the right skillsets.
The Programme will run daily from 9 - 27 July 2017 at International Maritime College Oman (IMCO), a specialist education and training institute in SOHAR which normally offers diploma and degree courses for the maritime, shipping, port, transport and petrochemical process industries. During their summer break, school students from grades 6 through 9 will receive the kind of workshop-style tuition otherwise found in colleges of further and higher education.
Thanks to dedicated and experienced teaching staff, the Programme sets out to develop the students’ talents and interests with a broad and practically oriented curriculum. The 2017 Programme will include workshops on computer science, photography, artistic editing techniques, robotics, sculpture and architecture. The Programme targets 300 outstanding students from local schools, and all tuition is held in English to help participants improve their written and verbal English language skills.
Since 2012, over 1,300 local students have successfully completed the Programme and many are now entering the local job market for the first time. With global investments in SOHAR Port and Freezone valued at over US$26 billion to-date, more and more opportunities are emerging as the industrial base expands and SOHAR emerges as one of the region’s prime logistical hubs.
SOHAR CEO, Mark Geilenkirchen, said: “At SOHAR Port and Freezone we believe every dollar invested in local education is an investment in all our futures. By helping to build stronger communities, with more sustainable economic success and more shared prosperity, everyone wins: the Port, the Freezone, our tenants, our overseas investors and the local community. We will continue to work closely with the Omani Ministries, local community leaders and our outstanding Summer Programme students in order to build a thriving regional hub in SOHAR as the new Gateway to the Gulf region.” ENDS