Oman plans to employ 40 percent of jobseekers by year-end: Ministry of Labor
January 26, 2021, 11:03 am

Oman plans to employ 40 percent of jobseekers by year-end: Ministry of Labor

Dr. Mahad Ba’owain, Oman's Minister of Labor. (Twitter)

Oman’s Ministry of Labor announced that it plans to employ 40 percent of job seekers by the end of 2021 and around 85 percent by next year, the Times of Oman reported.

The country’s Minister of Labor, Dr. Mahad Ba’owain, disclosed that the recent Omanization decisions would help create greater job opportunities for Omanis, according to the report.

Oman’s private sector is projected to take in 70 percent of Omani job seekers and the public sector to take in the remaining 30 percent, Ba’owain said.

He added that the decisions made were in line with Oman’s Vision 2040, the country’s 10th five-year plan to address job market challenges and to support the government’s strategy towards digitalization.

In an interview with Oman TV, the minister said, “Most of the current plans do take Omanization into account, so we expect that these decisions will create approximately 15,000 to 20,000 jobs for those seeking employment. This will be based on the actual employment needs of the country. The ministry’s role is to find sustainable employment for the existing numbers of job seekers in the sectors our country currently has. There are also upcoming initiatives in specialized sectors of our economy, such as education and healthcare. There are also professions in which Omanis will soon replace foreign workers, and updates on this will be announced in a timely manner.”

The government is currently collaborating with the private sector, Omani job seekers and the General Federation of Oman Workers to devise initiatives and find jobs through which they could make a difference in the current climate.

“The COVID-19 pandemic came after a period of economic stagnation that lasted for four or five years, and its impact is equal to what we felt during these years,” added Ba’owain.

“The economic downturn caused by the coronavirus has not just created major problems in terms of generating employment, but also in terms of laying people off. The ministry is trying to not lay off the national workforce, although we have about 300 companies who together employ about 70,000 workers demanding the dismissal and demobilization of Omanis.”

According to the minister, the ministry has prevented this from happening as much as possible and has taken decisions to help retain employees. In addition to this, the government is working on temporary contracts for short-term and part-time work to help provide people with better and more flexible opportunities.

“Hope to solve the issues around job seekers in the next two or three years, but it is important that they too look for work seriously and improve their skills and experiences where necessary if they are to be employed,” Ba’owain said.

source: Tala Michel Issa

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