Bank Muscat, the flagship financial services provider in the Sultanate, as part of its commitment to providing support for Omani society in the field of education and development, extended internship training opportunities to more than 950 students from various colleges and universities in 2012, bringing the total students who participated in this program in the last five years to over 4,500. The students underwent training ranging between one to three months and worked closely with first line, middle and senior management in various departments and branches of the bank. The programme enabled them to gain a broad-based experience across the bank's operations, as well as enhanced their understanding of the banking industry. The internship training programme was launched by Bank Muscat in line with the directive of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos to accord priority for the development of human resources in achieving prosperity. The bank pursues a human resources development policy in line with His Majesty's vision for a qualitative shift in national workforce, thereby providing more training and career growth opportunities for youth by strengthening their talents and increasing their participation in the comprehensive development march. Salim al Kaabi, DGM - HRM, said: "Bank Muscat launches various initiatives as part of its efforts aimed at providing support for Omani society in the field of education and development. The internship training opportunities offered to students in different departments and branches combines meaningful work experience with exposure to different areas of our business and service functions. The training helps the young students to expand their knowledge of the banking industry and encourages them to pursue a career in banking and finance." Carefully structured to enable the students to gain relevant work experience in a dynamic corporate environment, the internship training programme focuses on learning and understanding various banking products and services whilst also helping them meet work experience requirements as part of the curriculum. The trainees are given 'real tasks', that provide them with an opportunity to hone their skills and apply the knowledge learned in classroom to a real-world professional setting. Al Kaabi added: "The internship training programme aims to reinforce our commitment towards the development of Omani youth. Bank Muscat remains committed to playing its national role and shouldering its developmental and social responsibilities within the framework of co-operation and support for all segments of society. The bank will continue to focus on efforts to provide more training and career opportunities to Omani youth and invest in training these cadres. Bank Muscat believes investment in youth will yield continued benefits to the financial sector in Oman." Oman Daily Observer
