Muscat, 12 May 2012 - H.E. Hamed bin Khamis Al Amri, Undersecretary of Labour at the Ministry of Manpower, honoured 28 graduates of the hallmark Nawras Ruwaad training programme at a special ceremony held at Grand Hyatt Muscat hotel. Oman's customer friendly telecommunications provider designed the Ruwaad programme to train young, talented and motivated Omanis to become the future of Nawras; and cultivate the necessary skill sets and enthusiasm for a career in the telecommunications industry.

Kumail Al Moosawi, Director of People at Nawras, said, "Ruwaad represents our commitment to realising His Majesty's vision for a self-sufficient workforce. Nawras started with only two employees and now we proudly employ over 1,000 people. This scheme cements the future of the company in its role as an incubator for a new generation of telecommunications pioneers."

He added, "The graduate programme aims to bring a fresh approach to our dynamic team by promoting the development of new ideas and constantly identifying new ways to raise the bar of excellence to continue delighting our customers."

Over the past 18 months the Ruwaad graduates undertook training courses in emerging telecom technologies, problem solving and decision making, building positive relations, stress awareness and management, and team building exercises. They also had an opportunity to work in key Nawras departments such as Marketing, Human Resources, Finance, Information Technology, Engineering, Legal and Corporate Sales.

As part of Nawras' social responsibility to build and develop national talent, the Ruwaad programme looks for highly competent Omanis who have recently completed a university degree from a fully accredited institution of higher learning with a high grade point average.

Nawras is dedicated to providing an innovative career path for the country's talented prospects. The Ruwaad scheme offers opportunities in all aspects of the telecommunications industry including Telecom Engineering, Information Technology, Finance and Commercial Business.

Nawras, a Qtel Group company, has always been a 'people company' and has invested significantly in creating an inspiring, nurturing and equal opportunity corporate culture. This outstanding feature becomes more evident year after year where the company's commitment to people is celebrated by the number of awards and honours Nawras has received in recognition of its achievements. These include Innovation in HR Strategy 2011 at Asia's Best Employer Brand Awards, Outstanding Leader 2011 from TMT Finance Middle East and the Strategic Leadership Award at the Global HR Excellence Awards 2011.

More information about rewarding careers at Nawras can be found under the 'Nawras careers' section of the Nawras website: www.nawras.om .

-Ends-

Nawras:
Omani Qatari Telecommunications Company SAOG was founded and registered in the Sultanate of Oman in December 2004. It launched its service in March 2005 as the challenger mobile operator in Oman operating under the name Nawras. Nawras was awarded the second fixed licence in Oman in 2009, and launched its international gateway in April 2010, its corporate fixed and broadband services in May 2010, and its residential fixed and broadband services in June 2010. Since 2010 Nawras has been an integrated services telecommunications operator and is currently serving around 2 million customers across the Sultanate. Following a successful IPO, Nawras is listed on the Muscat Stock Market (MSM) under the "nwrs" ticker since 1 November 2010.  Nawras is majority owned by the Qtel Group and also has a number of significant Omani shareholders which ensures that the company is strongly integrated into the Omani society.

Nawras has won a number of awards including Innovation in HR Strategy 2011 from Asia's Best Employer Brand Awards, Outstanding Leader from TMT Finance Middle East 2011, Best IPO in the Middle East from emeafinance magazine and Strategic Leadership Award from Global HR Excellence Awards 2011.

About Qtel Group:
The Qtel Group is a leading international communications company, with a significant presence in the MENA region and Southeast Asia, and having a consolidated customer base of 83.4 million as of December 2011. It operates a portfolio of brands including Qtel, Indosat, Asiacell, Wataniya, Nawras, Nedjma and Tunisiana. The Qtel Group's principle activities are mobile telephone services, broadband solutions, digital futures and fibre technologies, serving both consumer and business markets. Headquartered in Doha, Qatar, Qtel Group is ambitiously growing its global business on the basis of its insights into the needs of customers in emerging markets. Qtel Group's ultimate parent company is Qatar Telecom (Qtel) Q.S.C., whose shares are listed on the Qatar Exchange and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

© Press Release 2012