National University tops in placements of engineering graduates last year

Muscat: The statistics of the Ministry of Manpower show that the National University has recorded the highest employment of its engineering graduates in 2021 in different sectors in the Sultanate compared to other educational institutions.

Over 230 graduates from National University’s Engineering College found jobs in Oman in the year 2021 from a total of 641 engineering graduates from different universities and colleges, both local and foreign institutions.

Times of Oman caught up with Dr Ahmed Al Balushi, the Dean of Engineering College at the National University, to find out the reason why their graduates found more employment success in 2021 than other institutions.

“We improve our curriculum constantly to reflect the changing demands of the industries. We know the technology is changing all the time and we keep pace with it on regular basis to make sure our engineering students keep up with the latest change,” Dr Al Balushi told Times of Oman.

The College has nine engineering specialisations, from mechanical, IT to electronics and communications disciplines.

The Ministry of Manpower has this week announced over 1,600 jobs in its efforts to absorb as many as graduates as possible. Last year, the Ministry of Manpower said it was planning to generate over 50,000 jobs before the year 2030.

“What makes graduates successful in finding jobs is the ability of an institution to benchmark itself with international practices and seek professional accreditations. At the same time, what makes our graduates unique is the latest update of the soft skills that looks into employability and even entrepreneurship,” Dr Al Balushi said.

Top engineering employers in Oman are the energy, airports, manufacturing, mining, architectural, civil and information technology sectors, which are constantly need young engineers, according to experts.

“Oman is a growing country and a lot of expansion are still taking place. Institutions like the National University has a big role to keep producing engineers as we progress forward. It is an area that will keep growing as the demands go up,” Jamal Al Moosawi, a retired PDO’s chemical engineer, told Times of Oman.