Giving a unique chance for Omani youth to regain missed educational opportunity BankMuscat, one of the leading financial services providers in the Sultanate, announced their ‘Jisr Al Mustaqbal’ (Bridge to the Future) youth scholarship programme, as per the directive of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos to provide relevant educational and training opportunities for the country’s youth to develop employable skills, at a specially held press meet at their head office in Seeb yesterday.
It was noted, the comprehensive programme is being launched as part of BankMuscat’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which aims at offering study and vocational training sponsorships for young Omanis — both male and female — from low-income and limited income families who have not been able to complete their education for various reasons.
To ensure the continuity and success of this commendable programme, the bank has set aside 20 per cent of its CSR budget for it. Scholarships will be distributed to students from all of the Sultanate’s provinces in the ratio of 60 per cent to interior regions and 40 per cent to the Muscat region.
Salim bin Mohammed al Kaabi, AGM, Human Resources Management, said, the “Jisr Al Mustaqbal scholarship programme has been well prepared to ensure the realisation of the objective to offer new opportunities to Omani youth to complete their education. The aim is to help such young Omanis to receive proper education and vocational training that will enable them to develop employable skills and improve their living standards, social and economic status. This will also encourage them to positively participate in the service of society and development of the country.”
The scholarship programme reaches out to Omani youth at two levels. In the first category, secondary school graduates from underprivileged families will be sponsored to pursue undergraduate diplomas at selected colleges and universities. The study programmes will be limited to diploma in Banking, Accounting, Finance or Information Technology, the duration of which will not exceed three-and-a-half years. Students who achieve GPA equal to or higher than 3.50 or equivalent in their diploma studies may, at the sole discretion of the bank’s management, be offered sponsorship to pursue a Bachelors programme. The sponsorship will cover course registration, tuition fees, cost of books and monthly allowance of RO 75.
The eligibility criteria require that beneficiaries are unemployed Omani nationals under the age of 20 who have completed Secondary School with at least 70 per cent marks and that the course was completed not more than two years prior to the proposed date of college enrolment. Candidates applying for sponsorship will be required to clear the placement test conducted by the college. Priority will be given to students in families that have no one in employment.
In the second category, unemployed youth from low income families who have not completed high school will be sponsored for vocational training. For eligibility, the student’s family should be recipients of social welfare and/or from a low income category, as defined by the Ministry of Social Development.
The sponsorship for vocational training, in colleges and institutes in Oman, will cover course registration, tuition fees and cost of books and, if required, monthly allowance on an ad-hoc basis.
For eligibility, the beneficiaries should be unemployed Omani nationals under the age of 25. For candidates applying for sponsorship, they will be required to pass the placement test administered by the college. Priority will be given to students with no one in employment in their family Al Kaabi added, “BankMuscat is committed to its corporate social responsibility and thereby contributes towards sustainable development by working closely with local communities, with the aim of improving living standards in a manner that serves the national economy and development process at the same time. The scholarship programme will help students from weaker sections of society to acquire employable skills, guaranteeing them economic independence.”
BankMuscat is the first Omani bank to establish a full-fledged CSR department. Considered among its core values, the CSR policy stems from the bank’s strong belief in the importance of social responsibility. It reflects their concern and care for various segments of society, with the view that its social responsibility is not merely participation in charitable works and organisation of voluntary campaigns, but responsibility towards all-round development of society.
BankMuscat focuses on all types of projects thatfall within the framework of social responsibility, which offer an important overall benefit to society and to individuals. The prime consideration includes the benefit reaching the largest number of individuals; the youth and job-seekers and provision of opportunities for the development of skills/human capital. Efforts are also targeted at individuals with special needs, so as to enhance their capabilities and integrate them into mainstream society.
In a question and answer session that followed the briefing, where Al Kaabi was joined by Mohammed bin Mubarak al Hasani, Head of Corporate Communications, BankMuscat, it was noted that 0.75 per cent of the bank’s net profit goes to their CSR budget. Last year this amounted to RO 700,000.