Good response to ‘Show your Potential’ programme
MUSCAT — After a successful launch of the ‘Show Your Potential’ programme, the
first three study workshops took place in the Microsoft Oman offices recently.
The workshops were attended by the first 40 who had registered for the
programme, with the sessions being well received.
Graham Watkins, senior consultant with Microsoft Gulf and senior
infrastructure consultant at the Innovation & Support Centre (ISC) elaborated:
“The aim of the workshops was to introduce the participants in the programme
to the new breed of Microsoft certifications and help them choose which path
they wanted to take. In addition, we explained how to start studying for the
exams and helped everyone discover the huge amount of resources that are
available, both on the Microsoft website and elsewhere on the Internet. The
key to being successful in passing Microsoft certifications, in addition to
any experience you may have, is knowing what resources are available and how
to access them.”
“As part of the workshop, we also provided some additional job hunting skills
and study techniques which I hope will make studying for the exams more
efficient. An important part of the Show Your Potential strategy is to build
study groups. This can be useful as each participant in a study group can be
assigned the task of learning a particular item of knowledge which they can
then share with the rest of the study group. This approach encourages everyone
to take part and to study while also building some team spirit and group
determination to pass the exams,” he added.
Mohammed Al Tamami, branding and communications manager of KnowledgeOman.com
said: “The overwhelming response was not a surprise since more companies need
certified professionals especially in the ICT sector. Over 300 people
consisting of students and working professionals signed up for the workshops,
some who registered from places as far as Nizwa and Saham. KnowledgeOman.com
plays host to a bilingual community portal to hundreds of professionals and
students in the Sultanate with over a thousand registered members and
thousands of regular visitors for the site’s interactive content of news,
interviews and columns.
KnowledgeOman.com will also facilitate the study groups since many are from
around the country. By hosting a forum to those interested to watch the
sessions online, download videos, or gain access to information on the
programme and study resources. The Show Your Potential programme is in
discussions with potential sponsors to help fund both study materials and
examination fees. Graham concluded by saying, “Our aim is to eventually bring
together those passing Microsoft certifications with companies in Oman who
need qualified employees and of course the Show Your Potential programme
sponsor companies will be the first on the list. The participants of the
programme are also getting additional information about Microsoft’s plans for
the following year to allow each individual to customise their own training
plan to capitalise on additional products that will hopefully make an impact
in the next year. This way as new products are released the participants of
the programme have had the opportunity to learn about the new products as they
are making an impact so they can be ready to take advantage. Having met the
first group of Show Your Potential participants, I am confident the programme
will see some spectacular results as everyone was very keen to take advantage
of the opportunities that the programme can supply.”
The programme has seen a huge number of registrants from places other than
Muscat. The Show Your Potential team is investigating ways of including these
remote participants using technologies that can make use of the Internet to
bring the Show Your Potential programme to the homes of those who cannot
travel to Muscat. The workshop presentation given by Graham on the night is
available for download from KnowledgeOman.com.
Now that the first round of workshops has been successful, those wishing to
still participate should not worry. More workshops will be organised in August
for those who have so far missed out.
Details will be released soon and all those interested are encouraged to visit
KnowledgeOman.com for further details. If interested and have not yet
registered for the Show Your Potential programme, one can register by logging
on to www.knowledgeoman.com.