Centre for Career Services and Alumni and College of Engineering Organize a Seminar on Employability Requirements

Dhofar University Centre for Career Services and Alumni, in collaboration with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the College of Engineering, invited Engineer Haitham Amer Al Shanfari, Director of the Department of Labelling and Geographic Information Systems, Dhofar Municipality, on November 6, 2024, to a talk addressed to the civil engineering students on the various skills and knowledge necessary for their success in the professional field which enable them to meet the job market needs.

The talk was moderated by Dr. Khalid bin Ahmed Al Kaaf, Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, at Dhofar University, and attended by Dr. Mahad bin Issa Shamas, Head of the Department, and Mohammed bin Salim Al Rawas Director of Centre for Career Services and Alumni, as well as several University’s alumni. The talk was praised and valued by the students who attended, expressing their appreciation for the useful information they received.

In his talk, the speaker focused on the concept of “professional relationships” in terms of how they can be built with colleagues, clients, and contractors, and the impact of this aspect on the success of any engineering project. The significance of these relationships has been highlighted as an integral part of engineering work, especially in projects that require continuous coordination between several parties.

The speaker also spoke about the “supervisor’s role” in the projects, explaining how the supervisor could play a pivotal role in guiding the team and ensuring the proper functioning, in addition to the significance of setting “goals” for each phase of the project and the value of sticking to them to succeed and achieve quality standards. The talk also provided details on “tenders and auctions” as an essential part of engineering, where students were introduced to the bidding mechanism and how to choose the right companies. The speaker also discussed “contracts” and the importance of understanding their terms to ensure the rights of all parties involved in the projects starting from the signing of the contract to the full project implementation.

It is worth mentioning that by organizing such events, Dhofar University aims to support its students and inculcate in them the attributes and skills needed for the job market. The University seeks to organize such events regularly to achieve its vision of preparing a generation of qualified civil engineers to serve the community and contribute to sustainable development.