Al-Dosari: Accreditation of more than 900 vocational training programs and licensing of 11 new training centers and institutes

09-11-2019

His Excellency the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Labour and Social Development, Mr Sabah Salem Al Dossari, affirmed that, as part of the Ministry’s strategy to encourage investment in the training and human resources development sector, it is attracting high‑quality training institutions that meet labour‑market needs. In this regard, 11 new training institutions were licensed from the beginning of 2019 through last October, bringing the total number of institutions licensed by the Ministry to 89, including 15 vocational and technical training centres and 74 administrative and commercial centres. Al Dossari added that the Ministry has licensed 913 training programmes since the start of this year, including 439 programmes awarding local certificates and 474 programmes granting certificates from internationally accredited bodies across multiple training fields. In addition, 459 trainers were licensed in several specialisations after meeting examination and evaluation criteria. He noted that, through its supervision of training institutions and to ensure compliance with specified standards, the Ministry conducted 100 field visits to licensed institutions up to the second quarter of this year, including 61 inspections of the headquarters of proposed new institutions, and 36 visits within the monitoring and auditing programme for licensed institutions to follow up on performance and adherence to licensing terms and standards under the governing legislation. Several violations were detected, and the necessary measures were taken. The Ministry also carried out visits to newly licensed institutions as part of its programme to educate training institutions on their role and help them overcome challenges in meeting the requirements of the Ministry and the Education and Training Quality Authority, in a manner that improves the quality of programmes delivered to beneficiaries. A total of 16 grievances were received from trainees at various training institutions via the direct complaints system or the Tawasul programme, most of which were resolved amicably in coordination with all concerned parties. The Undersecretary praised the cooperation of vocational training institutes and centres, and the commitment of the majority to established standards. He called on investors in the training sector to prioritise quality programmes in scientific, technical, technological and entrepreneurial disciplines that serve the requirements and needs of the labour market.