MUSCAT: The Ministry of Manpower (MoMP), in co-operation with other media institutions, is conducting studies to reconsider plans and programmes of Omanisation of press and media organisations, remarked Shaikh Abdullah bin Nasir al Bakri, Minister of Manpower, on the sidelines of a workshop on Omanisation of the press and media organisation at the Tourism College yesterday. Reconsidering the proposed plans will depend on the types of recommendations and most importantly the suggestions of the sector committee. The government will support the recommendations for application in future.
The Omanisation of the press and media sector is a promising and an important sector, in which Omanis have proved their potential. The government provides attention to generation of new job prospects and the directives of His Majesty the Sultan give significant attention to qualifying human resources in a planned manner as reflected in the Developmental Strategies of the Five-Year-Plans, he said. "We are proud that Omanis have gone a long way in implementation of the Omanisation process for men and women alike in both private and government domains. Currently, about 20 per cent of manpower employed in the private sector are Omanis and Omani women constitute 20 per cent of the employees including those in the press and media sector".
Since the inception of the blessed renaissance, Omanis have proved to be skillful in all levels of this specialised sector and all parties are ready to co-operate to contribute in availing job opportunities to job seekers in this sector, stated Al Bakry. The workshop discussed studies on the reality and ambition of the Omanisation of the press and media organisations and the characteristics of Omani media and the challenges of journalism. It also addressed the experience of Muscat House for Press and Publication and the Omanisation of the English press.
The objective of the workshop is to search for opportunities in the labour market for Omani youth and graduates who anticipate to work in press and other media organisations. The workshop, the first of its kind to be conducted by the Omani Journalists Association in co-operation with the MoMP, is also aimed at drafting strategic plans to Omanise the journalism and media sector. The ministry has also recommended the journalists committee to study the prospects of establishing job opportunities in the press and media, particularly due to the increasing trend of the establishment of media related organistions, said Aziza bint Slayim al Habsiya, member of the OJA, on the sidelines of the event.
"Conducting such studies does not necessarily indicate that we don't want the participation of the foreign labour force in the press and media related professions, but when we talk of lack of job opportunities particularly in this field, priority should slowly but perfectly be given to Omanis who are capable of handling such jobs. Dr Abdullah al Kindy, Associate Professor in Journalism, Sultan Qaboos University presentation focused on the characteristics of Omani newspapers and their specialisations in media as well as the aspects of the dailies as compared to the rates of employment of Omanis and residents alike said: The rates of Omanisation level of the Arabic dailies particularly the Oman Daily Arabic is excellent with an Omanisation level of about 81 per cent as compared to only 11 per cent of expatriates.
Likewise, the Omanisation level of Al Watan newspaper that stands at above 65 per cent as compared to less than 30 per cent expatriates is also acceptable and promising. "But, the Omanisation process of the English dailies is still at unacceptable rates of 90 per cent of expatriates as compared to only 10 per cent Omanis, which is mainly due to lack of command of English proficiency. But, we need to thoroughly prepare graduates from the media schools and encourage media institutions to provide prospective journalists with appropriate and effective internships to obtain hands on experience to overcome their challenges. To obtain an adequate Omanisation level of about 50 per cent level of quality journalists for the English dailies may require another 15-20 years to achieve the targeted level.
It is not easy to prepare students to take up challenging jobs in the field of journalism, particularly of the English dailies especially that this kind of job requires curiosity and self initiative. However, to achieve the targeted rate of Omanisation level -- from this year, the SQU has introduced an intensive English language course mandating the students to reach a certain level of proficiency in English and 30 per cent of their degree programmes will be in English to improve on this situation" said Al Kindy. The workshop was organised by the Oman Journalists Association in partnership with the MoMP.
Maryam Khalfan
© Oman Daily Observer 2010
