His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has stressed the need to develop the scientific, technical and vocational capabilities of the Omani people in order to:

• help citizens take an active role in the country’s economic development
• increase the number of Omani people working in the country’s labour force
• develop people’s skills and capabilities and thereby increase employment opportunities or entrepreneurial activities.

Oman’s VET System

In Oman, Vocational Education and Training (VET) is referred to as Technological and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). The national TVET system generally provides both Technical and Vocational education and training to Diploma level. TVET‘s key stakeholder is the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). This sets TVET apart from higher education, which is provided by approximately 50 public and private Colleges and Universities that offer a range of internationally accredited Certificates, Diplomas, first and higher degrees. These institutions are under the supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE).

The TVET system comprises a number of:

• Key government stakeholders with responsibilities for planning, developing, implementing and quality assuring TVET activities
• Government Sector providers
• Private Sector approved providers
• Private Sector approved and funded providers

Key VET Stakeholders

These stakeholders include both the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), along with the Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA).

However, the MOM is the primary stakeholder and has the mandate for (TVET) planning, development, delivery, and evaluation strategies. It has responsibilities for both the private and government TVET providers.

The OAAA is a government independent entity established to provide confidence to the public that the quality of higher education in Oman meets international standards, and to encourage continuous improvement in the management of the quality of higher education in both the public and private sectors.  The OAAA is responsible for institutional and programme accreditation processes.

The MOHE is responsible for licensing private Higher Education Institutes / Colleges / Universities and their programmes.

The latter two stakeholders work in collaboration to assure academic standards and it is in this regard that the OAAA role extends into the TVET provision of the 7 Government Colleges that are under the auspices of the MOM, although only one (Higher College of Technology, Muscat) offers Bachelor Degree programmes. No other MOM institutes or centres are subject to the OAAA audits or assessments.