DAVOS: The Sultanate on Thursday launched ‘Oman’s Future of Skills Initiative’ in collaboration with the World Economic Forum (WEF) at the annual meeting in Davos.
The initiative is a public and private sector collaboration to ensure that education and training systems keep pace with changes in labour market dynamics.
The historic announcement was made after a signing ceremony led by Dr Ali bin Masoud al Sunaidy, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council for Planning, and Saadia Zahidi, Member of the Managing Board and Head of the World Economic Forums Centre for the New Economy and Society.
The launch was witnessed by global dignitaries from the public and private sectors. The initiative aims to address the labour market changes anticipated from the Internet of Things (IoT), the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) and other technological advancements; by facilitating public-private collaboration to close the skill gap in line with private-sector needs.
Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde speaking at Davos warned countries against relying too much on monetary policy to counter another economic downturn, urging them to undertake fiscal and structural reforms to boost their economies’ resilience to shocks.
Lagarde also welcomed the US Federal Reserve’s approach to rely on economic data in setting the future pace of interest rate hikes, as simmering trade frictions cloud the economic outlook.
The Fed was among the few central banks that has “a little bit” of policy space left to expand stimulus, she said.
“It would be very nice if the economies at large didn’t have to rely on central banks yet again in order to resist the next shock,” Lagarde told delegates at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.
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