Muscat -
A recent survey has found that most Omanis prefer being employed in the oil, gas and petrochemicals industry because they are the best for maintaining a work-life balance and offer good salaries and career growth prospects.
Government careers are also thought of highly and attract almost half of the local talent, while women are predominantly interested in banking and finance, says the 'Top Industries in the Middle East and North Africa' survey by job portal Bayt.com and YouGov, a research and consulting organisation.
Forty-seven per cent of respondents said they preferred jobs in the oil, gas and petrochemicals industry, followed by the government sector (35 per cent) and banking and finance sector (23 per cent).
Also, the best salary packages in the sultanate are perceived to be in this industry (72 per cent) and banking and finance (29 per cent).
Forty-one per cent of the employed respondents in Oman are satisfied with the salary package in their current industry, while 57 per cent are satisfied with their ability to maintain a good work-life balance.
Fifty per cent are happy with their current work culture, which shows that the Oman work environment is a happy one.
Again, according to 59 per cent of respondents, oil, gas and petrochemicals industries offered the best potential for career growth while 29 per cent perceived it was the banking and finance sector.
The highest levels of job security are seen to be in government positions (46 per cent), oil, gas and petrochemicals (44 per cent), and military, defence, police and security services (24 per cent). Twenty-eight per cent respondents believed construction jobs are the most stressful, followed by oil, gas and petrochemicals (24 per cent).
Thirty two per cent felt the construction sector has the longest working hours.
Women in Oman are most attracted to banking and finance according to 50 per cent of respondents, followed by government (42 per cent), and education and academia (36 per cent).
Local talent is seen to be drawn predominantly to government, civil service and utilities jobs (41 per cent), oil, gas and petrochemicals (32 per cent and banking and finance (32 per cent).
According to 66 per cent of Oman respondents, the government is a favourable employer.
A fifth of Oman respondents (17 per cent) have changed the industry they work in the last 24 months, with 53 per cent considering an industry change in the next few years.
For this, the oil, gas and petrochemicals is the industry of choice for 25 per cent, while IT, electronics and telecommunications (12 per cent) and government (11 per cent) jobs are also popular.
The top reasons for career changes are perceived better salaries (69 per cent), career growth opportunities (48 per cent), and better benefits (26 per cent).
Sundip Chahal, CEO, YouGov, said, "Within Oman, it is very clear which industry is the most preferable, though interestingly the majority of regional respondents are keen to find employment in the IT, electronics and telecommunications industry rather than in oil, gas and petrochemicals."
Data for the survey was collected online from November 18-25, 2013, with 7,370 respondents aged above 18 years representing Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and the UAE.
© Muscat Daily 2014
