Women Blazing Trail in Middle East Marine Engineering

Women seem to be blazing a new trail in marine engineering education in Oman, and the Middle East as more female students opt for this highly coveted profession.

Mir and Hajar are graduates from the International Maritime College Oman (IMCO) in the Omani city of Sohar. They became friends after enrolling on a four-year bachelor’s degree programme in marine engineering.

“Even in western countries there are not so many women engineers, so I feel privileged to have this opportunity. I enjoy the freedom it gives me and I want other women to follow in my footsteps,” says Mir, who like Hajar, is one of a hundreds of women to have graduate from the college earlier this year.

Oman ratified the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Treaty in 2006, though there are some remaining issues surrounding the adoption of the treaty and conformity with Islamic Law. However, while 29 percent of the Gulf state’s 1.3 million women are employed, securing a career in engineering is still far from straightforward.

Namely, Oman Labour Law has put restrictions in place to avoid ‘problems’ and ‘complications’ when it comes to hiring women in certain industries and locations.

In the case of female engineers, it remains the responsibility of the prospective employer to convince the Ministry of Manpower of the necessity of appointing a female engineer. Only when the ministry is convinced, will it issue clearances, and even then there is no guarantee of appointment.

Despite these obstacles, Mir and Hajar have already secured placements in the industry – a testament to their fine standing within their cohort and the strong networks that the college has built over nine highly successful years.

With students able to choose from courses in Marine Engineering, Process Operational Technology, Port Shipment and Transport Management, and Maritime Studies, they are also part of a generation of women who are slowly turning the tables in terms of tertiary education in the Gulf.

The same can be said of Oman, where female literacy rates are in line with the global average, and where school life expectancy for women is at least 11 years. Yet, while 28 percent enrolment in tertiary education is respectable for the Middle East, Mir and Hajar are still in the minority, although this is something Head of Maritime Department at IMCO, Patrick Wells, said is definitely changing.

“We have around 1,700 students at the moment and we fully expect that to grow to 2,000 when our new students join us in September. An increasing number of them will be young women who aspire to become leaders, and just like in other countries they are often among our best achievers,” he explains.

“Unlike Mir and Hajar, most of these women will choose to study process operational technology, port, shipping and transport management, or maritime studies. Regardless of what they study, our aim will be to nurture them and ensure they get the support they need to survive in a highly demanding industry.

“It can be quite a culture shock for some of our students, but our drop-out rate is very low,” he adds.

As the only education and training institute in the GCC region to offer diplomas, degree programmes, and short courses to both male and female students seeking to gain entry into maritime, shipping, port, transport, and petrochemical industries, IMCO receives fee paying and government sponsored students.

IMCO Head Mr. Wells says: “Whether male or female, when I send someone to sea, they need to be able to do a job. If they can’t they put their own safety and that of their peers in jeopardy, and so we treat everyone equally. We are the only school in the Gulf to send our trainees to sea so they can gain sufficient experience, and each year we help 85 percent of our students to secure industry leading training programmes. This has been one of the keys to our success, and is why my inbox is full of new enquiries for our graduates.”

IMCO is owned by the Government of Oman and the STC Group in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Press Release