1. Introduction

The emphasis on vocational education and training is increasing throughout the world due to the economic and social benefits it imparts on a society. These benefits can be observed on individual, organisational, and social levels. For individuals, vocational training provides skills, job opportunities, life satisfaction, and motivation to work (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, 2011). For organisations, it results in increased employee productivity and inclusion of disadvantaged groups (Cong and Wang, 2012). While for the entire society, Vocational Training brings economic growth, reduction in crime, and social cohesion. Thus, Vocational Education and Training can be a solution to several economic and social problems (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, 2011). This report presents a project plan for constuction of a vocational college for the Ministry of Manpower, Oman.

The Ministry of Manpower, Sultanate of Oman is a governmental bureau responsible for affairs related to manual labour in Oman (Ministry of Manpower, 2020). Its functions cover a wide range of issues and vary from issuing work permits to foreign workers to building and maintaining skill development institutes for Omani youth throughout the country. The ministry currently runs eight vocational training colleges in Oman and is intending to grow this network of vocational institutes by adding another one in the city of Bawshar. The college will present an opportunity for Omani youth to learn useful skills and work for organisations in Oman. This project is in line with the Omanisation program being followed by the government that aims to increase the number of Omani nationals working in organisations in Oman (Winckler, 2000).

2. Objectives

The main objective of this project is to construct and run a vocational training institute in the city of Bawshar that will impart industrial, commercial, and business skills to the youth of the city. The training of the youth will provide the organizations with skilled workers, while the youth will learn skills that will make it easier for them to find jobs near their places of residence. Consequently, this will play a role in reducing unemployment rates in the Omani youth and Oman’s reliance on foreign labour will also be checked (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, 2011). The first step to achieve these goals will be to construct a building for the institute and procuring the needed resources to make it operational.

3. Smart Goals

Specific	To construct a vocational training institute in the city of Bawshar
Measureable	With a capacity of 1000 students at a time
Achievable	Using the available resources
Relevant	To help the youth of Bawshar develop useful professional skills
Time-Bound	By 1st May 2021

Table 1: SMART Goals of the project

4. Project Team and Their Roles

The team for this project will be composed of various individuals ranging from the Minister of Manpower to the builders responsible for the construction of the building. As is the case with any project, the skills and dedication of the team members will play an essential part in the timely completion of this project (Azmy, 2012).

4.1. The Minister of Manpower

The minister is the highest level decision-maker in the Ministry of Manpower. He will decide whether the project is to be undertaken, and also how many resources are to be spent on the completion of the project after consultation with the DG Vocational Training.

4.2. Director General of Vocational Training

The vocational training director will determine the feasibility of the intended project and share his recommendations with the minister. If the minister approves, the DG will appoint a project manager to oversee the completion of the project.

4.3. Project Manager

The project manager will be the one responsible for the successful completion of the project or any problems associated with it. One of his first responsibilities will be to look out for a suitable piece of land and acquire it for the construction of the institute.

4.4. Project Board

Although not delegated with any particular responsibility, the project board will continuously monitor the project and make recommendations to the project manager regarding any needed changes.

4.5. Procurement Team

The procurement team will be in charge of procuring materials, equipment, and machinery needed for the completion of the project. The procurement team will remain a part of the institute once it becomes operational and will remain responsible for acquiring any machinery or equipment needed in the institute.

4.6. Human Resource Department

The human resource department will hire staff members who have the needed capabilities needed to run the vocational college. The staff to be hired will include instructors, lab assistants, and administrative staff etc.

4.7. Building Team

The building team will consist of engineers, builders and such members whose primary task will be to construct the building for the institute. The role of the building team will end once the construction of the building is concluded.

4.8. Quality Control Executive

The quality control executive will run the necessary tests to ensure that the building and the equipment and machinery being used in the institute fulfil the mandatory requirements.

Serial Number	Project	Responsibility
1	Site selection and purchase	Project Manager
2	Procurement of materials and machinery required for construction	Procurement Team
3	Construction of building	Project Manager, Builders
3.1	Construction and furnishing of classrooms	Project Manager, Builders, Electricians, Painters
3.2	Construction and furnishing of laboratories	Project Manager, Builders, Electricians, Painters
3.3	Construction and furnishing of workshops	Project Manager, Builders, Electricians, Painters
3.4	Construction and furnishing of lavatories	Project Manager, Builders, Electricians, Painters
3.5	Construction and furnishing of instructors’ offices	Project Manager, Builders, Electricians, Painters
3.6	Construction and furnishing of administrative offices	Project Manager, Builders, Electricians, Painters
4	Procurement of training equipment and learning facilities	Project Manager, Procurement Team
5	Final Quality Check	Quality Control Executive, Project Manager, HRDD Head
6	Recruitment of instructors, lab attendants and administrative staff	Human Resource Department

Table 2: Team Members and their Responsibilities

5. Phases of the Project

For better planning of the project, it will be divided into a number of phases, in which different team members will achieve their respective tasks. The ‘Four Ds’ model will be used to divide the phases of this project (Whatley, 2014).

5.1. Define

The first phase of the project will be of defining the scope, objectives, and constraints of the project (Kerzner, 2017). Thus, the goals and objectives of the project, the allocation of resources for the project and the time limit for the completion of the project will be set in this phase (Kerzner, 2017). The primary actors in this phase will be the Minister of Manpower and the Director-General of Vocational Training.

5.2. Design

The second stage will comprise of designing the project on paper. The most crucial step in this phase will be to draw a detailed schedule of the project that will define how much time will be given to the different stages of the project like purchasing of land and construction of the building (Meredith, Shafer and Mantel, 2017). Project Manager will be the primary team member responsible for coming up with a detailed schedule.

5.3. Deliver

Actual work on the delivery of the project will start in the third phase. This phase will be composed of practical steps like buying of land, construction of the building, and recruitment of staff for the institute (Kerzner, 2017). All the team members below the Director-General will be involved in this phase.

5.4. Develop

The final phase of the project will be that of reviewing the project and learning from the shortcomings observed in the current project, to prevent them from coming up in the forthcoming projects (Whatley, 2014).

6. Activity List

Serial Number	Project	Start Date	End Date	Days Required
1	Site selection and purchase	01 May 2020	31 May 2020	31
2	Procurement of materials and machinery required for construction	01 June 2020	30 June 2020	30
3	Construction of building	01 July 2020	31 October 2020	123
4	Procurement of training equipment and learning facilities	01 November 2020	10 December 2020	40
5	Furnishing of building	11 December 2020	31 January 2021	51
6	Final Quality Check	01 February 2021	05 February 2021	5
7	Recruitment of instructors and administrative staff	06 February 2021	16 March 2021	38

Table 3: Activity List for the Project

The most considerable amount of time will be needed for the construction and furnishing of the building. Thus, these two will be the most critical stages of the project. As can be inferred from the table, the project will be completed by 16th March, and thus there will be an adequate amount of buffer time available to mitigate the effects of any accident or delay.

7. Work Breakdown Structure

A Work Breakdown Structure will help explain the hierarchy and responsibilities of the different team members. Work Breakdown Structures are used extensively in theoretical and practical project management as they clearly explain the chain of command in a project team (Rad, 1999).

Figure 1: Work Breakdown Structure

8. Network Diagram

As a Work Breakdown Structure shows the hierarchy of team members, the network diagram shows the hierarchy of processes. The network diagram explains the project schedule more precisely while also illustrating the relative importance of different stages (Harrison and Lock, 2004).

Assigning the Project Manager

2

4

5

8

9

7

6

Start

Site Selection and Purchase

Procurement of Materials and Machinery

Building Construction

2

2

2

2

Building Furnishing

Procurement of Training Equipment and Lab Facilities

Quality Check and Recruitment of Instructors and other staff

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

Figure 2: Network Diagram

9. Gantt Chart

The work schedule can be broken down into even more detail using Gantt charts. These charts present the schedule in a graphical model and illustrate how much time will be spent on each stage of the project. One advantage of using Gantt charts is that they can be easily updated if changes are needed to be made to the schedule due to unforeseen circumstances (White and Fortune, 2002).

Figure 3: Project Gantt chart

The Gantt chart data also shows the construction and furnishing phase to be the most critical stage of the project.

10. Budget Cost

The breakdown of different expenses is mentioned in the following table:

Serial Number	Activity	Budget in OMR
1	Site Search and Purchase	300,000
2	Hiring of Builders	7,000
3	Procurement of Construction Material and Machinery	30,000
5	Furnishing	12,000
6	Procurement of Electronic and Lab Equipment	20,000
7	Recruitment of Instructors and Administrative Staff	85,000
	Total Budget	500,000
	Total Expenditure	454,000

Table 4: Project Budget Breakdown

As can be inferred from the above table, purchase of site will be the most expensive action in the project.

11. Quality Plan

The quality of the project can be assessed with the help of the following quality plan:

Activity ID	Test ID	Testing measure	Testing approach	Performance checked by	Approved by	Review Date	Approval Date	Project Results
101	1	Building Strength	Inspection	Quality Control Executive	DG Vocational Training	01 November	03 November	Pending
102	2	Building Appeal	Inspection	Quality Control Executive, Interior Designer	DG Vocational Training	01 February	03 February	Pending
103	3	Classroom Equipment Working	Performance test and inspection	Quality Control Executive, Administrative Staff	DG Vocational Training	01 February	03 February	Pending
104	4	Workshops properly equipped	Performance test and inspection	Quality Control Executive, Administrative Staff	DG Vocational Training	01 February	03 February	Pending
105	5	Laboratories properly equipped	Performance test and inspection	Quality Control Executive, Administrative Staff	DG Vocational Training	01 February	03 February	Pending

Table 5: Project Quality Plan

12. Risk Log

Unforeseen events can always appear to disturb the process of project completion. Forecasting such risks helps managers to have a remedial action already in mind if one such problem materializes. The following table gives an idea about the possible risks in this project:

Risk	Severity of risk	Frequency of occurrence	Level of risk	Responsibility of	Remedial Action	Review Date	Status
Problems in land acquisition	Medium	Medium	Medium	Project Manager	Engage different estate agents	31 May	Pending
Delay in supply of raw materials	Medium	Low	Low	Procurement Team	Engage different suppliers	30 June	Pending
Building not fulfilling safety standards	High	Low	Medium	Builders, Quality Control Executive	Increase investment, Change raw material supplier	03November	Pending
Faulty Electronic Equipment	Medium	Medium	Medium	Procurement Team	Change electronics vendor	03 February	Pending
Workshop equipment malfunctioning	High	Medium	Medium	Procurement Team	Change supplier	03 February	Pending
Substandard Laboratory apparatus	Medium	High	Medium	Procurement Team	Change supplier	03 February	Pending
Unavailability of required staff	Medium	Medium	Medium	Human Resource Department	Publicize employment opportunity	16 March	Pending

Table 6: Project Risk Log

13. Conclusion

The construction of a vocational college at Bawshar will increase the number of training institutes being run by the Ministry of Manpower to provide valuable skills to the youth of Oman. The team members will coordinate to complete the project before the given deadline of 1st May 2021. For achieving the project objectives, the responsibilities of team-members, time-schedule of the project, budget breakdown, and risk log have all been mentioned in this report.

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