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.
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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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