(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Under the patronage of H H Sayyid Fahd bin al Julanda al Said, Assistant Secretary General for Innovation Development at The Research Council, a celebration was held at Sultan Qaboos University's (SQU) Culture Center Auditorium to honour the winners of Omantel Talents 2013 competition.
The event was attended by thousands. In his statement Sayyid Fahd said, ''Omantel Talents is one of the leading initiatives that aim at spotting youth talent, showcasing their innovations and ideas and channelling their capabilities to the service of the society in general.'' He said that the initiative is one of a series of initiatives promoted by the company as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR). He also added that the competition has provided Omantel staff and their families with opportunities to show their talent in science, art and literature.
HR care
Dr Ghalib bin Saif al Hosni, vice president, HR at Omantel, stressed on the fact that Omantel cares for its employees as it believes human resources are the most valuable asset of the company. To this end, it designs initiatives that showcase their talent and help them promote their capabilities. He also added that the competition has proved its success as one of the main initiatives that channel the employees and their families' energies in the right direction. The success of the competition is very evident from the number of participations we had this year and the type of ideas and talent that have been identified.
Commenting on the event, Yaqoob bin Mubarak al Kiyumi, general manager of service delivery at HR unit and general supervisor of Omantel Talents 2013 competition expressed his joy for the developments witnessed by the event. He also lauded the new measures which provided employees with the opportunity to be involved in the voting process. This involvement reflected well on the general performance of the competition and the success it achieved at the concluding ceremony. ''The competition, which builds on the achievements made in the first edition of the competition, symbolises Omantel's keenness to provide every possible support to its staff and their families,'' he added.
Najla Khamis al Bahlouli, one of the members of the main committee for Omantel Talents 2013 competition, said, ''I was honoured to take part in this competition which is considered the most unique and elite at the private sector level. The competition helped us spot talent that we were not aware of despite the fact that they are very close to us.'' She also added that the competition helped us to acquire new knowledge and skills on how to deal with big competitions such as the one promoted by Omantel. ''It also allowed us to have direct contact with company executives, staff and their families and learn from them.''
Concluding ceremony
The ceremony started with Q'uranic recitations followed by a speech from the chairman of Omantel Talents 2013 main committee Mohammed bin Ahmed al Riyami in which he stressed that this competition is in line with Omantel's vision and its endeavours to enhance the interaction between the management and Omantel family members through initiatives such as the Employee Engagement programme. This programme is one of a series of programmes promoted by the company HR in a bid to meet the different needs of the company employees and provide them with the opportunity to showcase their talent.
Riyami also stated that Omantel board of directors and executive management attaches great care and interest in investing in developing the company's human resources. The company has implemented a number of projects and initiatives that ensures the provision of high quality training, development and scholarships for its staff. It also provides them with various opportunities for career development, talent management and enhancing performance.
The company managed to achieve more than 90 per cent satisfaction in the Employee Engagement survey conducted by an independent consultant. ''I take this opportunity to thank our main sponsors Huawei and BMW for supporting and sponsoring our closing ceremony which have been enriched with valuable prizes from these two sponsors,'' he said.
The concluding ceremony included many traditional and cultural performances such as Al Aazi and Bahri art with which the attendees showed great response. The event also included a poetry recitation by Laith bin Khamis al Sariri, son of one of Omantel staff. The verse is composed by Omantel staff Yousef bin Mohammed al Maskari. At the end of the event, a lucky draw was held to announce the winner of a BMW car. The lucky winner was Ali bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Kashoub. Many prizes were distributed among the public from Huawei Company.
Drawing and photography expo
During Omantel Talents 2013 competition, the team organised at the company headquarters an exhibition that included more than 60 portraits and photographs. The exhibition was opened by Sheikh Ayman bin Ahmed al Hosani, a member of Omantel board of directors. The exhibition included the best portraits and photographs that took part at Omantel Talents 2013 competition. It also included display of the photographs and portraits that were shortlisted. The exhibition aimed at showcasing the abundant talent at Omantel. It also aimed at providing Omantel staff with the opportunity to select the best portrait and photograph through voting.
Winners
Abdul Hakeem bin Yasser al Kalbani, who won the first prize at the painting competition said, ''The award will give me momentum to improve my skills and constantly add to my knowledge about fine arts.'' Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Araimi , winner of the first award in the social responsibility category, said, ''Since His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said ascended to the throne in 1970, the Omani government has been very keen on providing entrepreneurs with all possible support to help them start their own ventures.'' Saleh bin Rashid al Rahbi said, ''I won the third prize in the best idea competition about ‘enhancing Omani values and identity'. I believe that the Omani identity and values are deep rooted in history and are an integral part of our culture. We should be aware that our identity should always be a source of our pride and that we should not allow anything to prejudice our true Omani identity especially in this age which is characterised by rapid changes.''
Judging committee
Dr Jamil al Shaqsi, a member at the judging committee for the best computer software expressed his joy for taking part in this prestigious competition. He said, ''I have to admit that judging the works has been a very tough job due to the fact that most of the works were unique and of high quality. We have received programmes for the smartphones and computers. One of the participants presented a device that will help the company to double its sales and at the same time ensure high quality non interrupted service around the clock.'' Ahmed al Shakily, a member of the judging panel for the photography competition, said, ''The quality of works taking part in the photography competition exceeded my expectations. I was really impressed by the high quality works which have been a real challenge for the judging panel members.'' Sheikh Mohammed bin Said al Manthri, member of the jury panel for the Q'uran memorisation competition, stated that the competition has witnessed a remarkable improvement compared to last year's one. Abdullah al Bahrani, a member of the best IT design competition, said, ''The competition is very important as it helps Omantel to spot talent in different areas.''
Winning the BMW
Ali bin Mohammed Kashoub, from the mobile team at Dhofar Unit expressed his over joy for winning the BMW. ''I travelled from Salalah to Muscat to attend the event as I was one of the participants and winner of the second place in the shooting competition. Thanks to Allah, I was the lucky winner
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