Train For Skills

A M Al Harthy, Chief Executive, Polyglot Group speaks on a range of issues impacting the employment market in Oman in a candid interview with Mayank Singh.

- Mayank Singh

How was the year 2016 and did it throw up new challenges?

The year 2016 was a challenging one across all industries and as during any downturn training and advertising budgets were the first to be cut in such a scenario. Despite these we have overcome the challenges of 2016 and entered 2017 strongly. In terms of job creation there has been a bit of a challenge as there is a big disconnect between job creators, legislators and potential employees. We focus so much on numbers that we have forgotten the human element. Over the years we have put students through a conventional education system expecting them to be productive at the end of it, but it has not worked out as planned. There is a big gap in the market in terms of productivity of university graduates and school pass outs compared to the expectations of the private sector.