Only 47% of graduates get jobs in Oman

Muscat: More than half of Omanis remain jobless after graduating from colleges in the Sultanate, a survey conducted by the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) has revealed.
Speaking to the Times of Oman, a senior official from MoHE said the survey was carried out among 12,551 students, who have been searching for jobs after graduating from their colleges.
“The survey was published this month by the Graduate Affairs Department of the Ministry of Higher Education,” the official said.
The survey pointed out that while 53 per cent remained jobless, 47 per cent Omanis got jobs after graduating from colleges.
The study also showed that students of Science, Philosophy and Engineering bagged jobs after passing out from colleges, while students in the Arts struggled to get a job.
“The unemployment rates are going up for the Arts section as many companies in Oman are ignoring the importance of humanities,” Social Researcher Younis Ali, said.
Experts said there are too many university graduates, who are chasing fewer job openings. “I had applied for a job in government academic institution in January 2015 and I was called for an interview in April 2015 and finally got rejected in October 2015,” admitted a job seeker, Mohammed al Lawati.
Then there are people like Samira Ali Balushi who went for a job interview and was surprised to see more than 15 candidates sitting there.
“For one job more than 15 people are fighting,” she said.
Oil prices are currently trading at around $32 per barrel so most of the companies are not hiring. “As long as oil prices are on the lower side, most of the companies will not hire. I honestly do not see this situation improving this year, which means it will be a hard year for graduates looking for jobs,” the company official added.
HR officials said universities must start revolutionising conventional models of higher education to meet the demands of the industry and be more creative in technology and innovation.
“There are a lot of people in the market, but it is hard to find a good Omani employee. That is one of the reasons we go for expatriate workers at times,” the official said.