Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has teamed up with telecom operator Omantel to support the Middle East Leadership Academy (Mela) to offer scholarship and training opportunities for budding young business leaders.

The partnership is an extension of the corporate social responsibility strategies of both companies.

PDO and Omantel were joint sponsors of the fourth Mela session which was held in Muscat at the Barr Al Jissa Resort and Spa. Over 70 participants, business leaders, speakers and facilitators took part in the intensive 10-day experiential programme and attendees came from Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Qatar.

PDO managing director Raoul Restucci said: “Leadership skills and characteristics are key for any young professional today, and the extensive training that Mela offers and the opportunities within its network can benefit the next generation of Omani and regional business leaders.

“We are delighted to be associated with this excellent training scheme. A number of PDO staff have entered the academy since its launch in 2011 and have been schooled in areas such as team building, conflict resolution, social media, decision making, operational excellence and high productivity.”

This year, PDO plans to train more than 450 staff on executive leadership or accelerated leadership programmes. The company places great importance on being a good corporate citizen and has developed a number of structured social investment programmes which are implemented in close collaboration with the Government through a joint Social Investment Committee.

Omantel chief executive officer Dr Amer Awadh Al Rawas said: “We are pleased to partner with PDO and Mela in this great training programme. Equipping our people with leadership skills that prepare them to be better leaders in the future is a key pillar of our HR strategy.

“Being the largest and the leading integrated telecommunications services provider, we place an immense significance on providing our people with quality training that can enhance and shape their leadership skills and thought processes  to ensure  that Omantel leadership is maintained for years to come. We believe the Mela scheme is a perfect programme that can enable us to achieve our training and development objectives.”

“Last year, Omantel partnered with different government authorities to sponsor local and overseas training opportunities for young Omani entrepreneurs. Again this year, we partnered with the Ministry of Manpower to provide on-job training for 30 general diploma graduates with an opportunity to be part of the Omantel team when they successfully complete the training programme,” Al Rawas added.  – TradeArabia News Service