An Omani trainer has called for the need to create more higher education opportunities to arrest growing unemployment in the country.

"We have had to hire expatriates because they have had more opportunities for higher education than us and are better qualified," reckons Yasser Abdullah Sulaiman, a qualified aeronautical engineer, who also imparts training to Omani employees in public as well as private sector.

"But, says Yasser, "we need a curriculum that encompasses secondary sch-ool leavers and provides them with a place for higher education." He also advocates Arabised teaching, especially technical education. He studied up to Grade 12 in Oman in an Arabic medium school and then went onto complete his higher education in Ireland and Holland.

"Initially, I had difficulties coping with a foreign language (English) but eventually I completed my engineering degree in English," he points out.

Therefore, he says, to make it smooth for the Arabic speaking pupils in Oman, it was necessary to Arabise higher education, especially technical courses.

Yasser was critical of the system and said: "Buil-ding imposing edifices is not enough, we need to ensure that what we impart inside these buildings is adequate for our young citizens to take up employment once they complete their higher education."

He strongly believes in investment in education for a better future. "Like in all sphere we also need to invest heavily in education where we can accommodate more and more students."

He referred to about 50,000 pupils coming out of higher secondary schools every year and said that such a large number puts a lot of strain on the higher education in the country. "Obviously, we need to provide much more opportunities for higher education for these pupils," he said.

Yasser also feels that training plays a significant role in an individual's development as a worker and in Oman there was a need to have more and more on-the-job training courses for the Omanis both in government and private sector. "They would also get clear direction through training," he added.

"We in Oman also need stringent train-the-trainer programme," he suggested.

Also, the soft-speaking engineer and an avid chess player, feels that training more Omanis as trainer would bear fruits for the labour market.

"Them (Omani trainers) will have common grounds with the trainees and would share the culture and language while imparting training," Yasser said.