Study on maximising employment opportunities for nationals in Oman

Muscat: A study was conducted to devise investment policies that enhance the employment of Omanis in the labour market.
As delegated by the Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting (GOIC), the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), represented by the Directorate General of Industry, “Planning and Industrial Studies Department,” conducted a study on the policies and opportunities for the employment of national manpower in the Sultanate.
The study also aims at proposing efficient economic projects and investment policies.
The study comes within the efforts made by the Sultanate to enable Omanis to join labour market especially economic activities carried out by them to maximise their benefit from the fruit of economic growth in general and the industrial sector growth in particular.
The study cast light on the labour market legislations and provides analysis of the indicators and the institutional framework for the training and employment of national manpower. The study also highlighted the available job opportunities, represented in professions for the national manpower and the role of public and private sectors in operation.
The study also pointed out that the labour market of the private sector faces many challenges that restrict citizens’ access to it or setting up individual projects in most economic sectors especially industry.
This situation urges devising solutions that enable, rehabilitate citizens and provide them with the healthy environment that encourages them to take up the available job opportunities and promote entrepreneurship in all private sector’s activities.
In a bid to study the labour market indicators and employment policy at the industrial sector, the study did not limit itself to the industry sector only, but rather presented the analysis reached during the research period.
The study aims at achieving three main objectives namely identifying the status of the economic sectors especially industry, identifying new investment opportunities that enable them to attract national manpower and identifying the academic and professional needs, how far the national manpower can meet such needs and the Omanisation levels at the various economic activities especially industry.
Labour market
The study discussed several facts at the Omani labour market, such as low percentage of Omanis at the labour market especially at the private sector activities and the dire need to enable Omanis and job-seekers to overcome the challenges before their access at the labour market.
It also discussed the need to reconsider the Omanisation levels approved by the Sultanate to enhance nationalisation of jobs at the private sector.
The study provided a set of recommendations related to policies and procedures that may contribute to creating new job opportunities for job-seekers at all economic sectors including industry and to limit the challenges that hamper access of the national manpower to labour market.