Why Omani graduates are driving buses, waiting tables at restaurants

Energy Tuesday 19/September/2017 20:34 PM
By: Times News Service
Why Omani graduates are driving buses, waiting tables at restaurants

Muscat: Omani university graduates are waiting tables and driving buses, as they struggle to find jobs in their chosen fields.
Some 50,000 Omanis are looking for jobs, according to the latest data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
There was an 11 per cent increase in the number of job seekers across the Sultanate by the end of July.
While waiting for a job, many Omanis fill their time by working part-time.
Saleh Al Saidi has worked as a bus driver for the past two years, while waiting for a job. Al Saidi has a diploma in Applied Chemistry.
“If I find a job relating to my specialty, I will accept it even if the pay is low,” Al Saidi said.
Abdulnasser Abdullah, who has a degree in English, said: “For the past two years, I have been worked many part-time jobs, such as driver, water tank driver and car rental clerk, in a tourism company.”
Earlier this year, NCSI published a report that stated that the majority of job-seekers are in the age range of 25 to 29 and most of them are college graduates.
The increase in the number of students enrolling in universities around the Sultanate goes some way in explaining the rise in the number of job seekers.
“A number of graduates are specific with the type of jobs they want, and so there aren’t enough job opportunities to facilitate the specific jobs required,” said Jasim Al Baluchi, deputy head of Education and Professional Development.
“They have to be more willing to work in any job at any level; there are many economic projects in Oman that job seekers could become a part of if they are willing,” added Al Baluchi.
Some graduates try to search for better outcomes by going back to university to study further, and hoping for a career as teachers.
Manal Al Alawi is an IT graduate, who has been job-hunting for the past five years. “I decided to pursue a new degree with my own money, in the College of Education at Nizwa University, to help me become a math teacher,” Al Alawi said.
“I think teachers have a better chance of being employed. In the last five years, I tried to apply to many jobs in my field, but I never got a reply.”
Al Alawi is not the only job seeker who decided to get a teaching degree. Aysha Al Sinani, who has a diploma in English studies, said: “This year, I decided to take up another degree to become a Physical Education teacher. The degree will cost me more than OMR9,200, and will take up to four years.”
“My sister has been struggling to find a job for the past eight years. She graduated with a degree in Business Administration,” she added.
A social media hashtag on Twitter has been running for weeks as young ‘Omanis without jobs’ vent their frustrations. 28,500 accounts commented on the hashtag, which generated more than 600,000 tweets.
One restaurant in Oman, Kashth Burger in Ibra, is owned and managed by 13 young Omanis.
Four of them are bachelor degree holders, three are still studying in the colleges but working part-time in the restaurant and one has a general diploma certificate.
“We thought of starting a restaurant that serves different dishes and snacks from the ones served in our area, and we wanted to employ Omanis, who would know what other Omanis like,” said Aamer Al Harthy, the restaurant’s marketing manager said.