The public and private sectors in the Sultanate of Oman absorbed 40,000 Omani youth in 2021, said a senior official in the Ministry of Labour.
The official said that as of now around 100,000 are seeking employment, with nearly 30,000 to 40,000 graduates coming out of higher education institutions each year.
“Nearly 40,000 nationals secured jobs in 2021 in various sectors in both government and private organisations. We have an average of 100,000 youths seeking placements as about 30-40,000 youngsters seek jobs each year’’, said Sayyid Salim al Busaidy, Under-Secretary of Human Resources at the Ministry of Labour.
He further said that the contribution of public and private sectors is approximately 50:50, and there would be more jobs, as the country has more projects that require both skilled and unskilled workers.
“Having said, foreign workforce is inevitable for any economy, and the case with the Sultanate of Oman is not any different. No economy can grow without making the right balance between the local and the foreign workforce.”
“This is the case with any developed economy with a perfect mix of the workforce,” he added.
The relationship between the locals and foreigners will continue to contribute to the economy.
“We are aiming to ease the procedures for jobs, facilitate the right mix and help the economy. Next year, there will be a bundle of incentives to revitalise the economy.”
SKILL DEVELOPMENT
As the facilitators of jobs for the citizens, the Ministry of Labour has been investing in training and skills development while protecting their rights and ensuring that the economy is growing so that everyone can look forward to their roles in society.
“We have to coordinate and organise, and balance the market between locals and expatriates and make sure the environment is investor-friendly for everybody.”
Speaking about the Etimad Programme based on the Tanfeedh, Oman Vision 2040, he said the idea of Etimad is to tackle the challenges of the job market facing the local employment and try to build a team and share the expertise of this manpower.
“There are some skills and attitudes of our manpower that need to be tuned to help them achieve the desired goals in their career. Etimad programme aims to solve this issue among the middle and higher management levels in the private sector, and the goal is to enhance the skills of locals in these categories and enlarge the know-how of the middle management candidates. This will help benefit each other and the company itself,” Al Busaidy said.
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