Private sector absorbs over 8k job seekers in Oman: Report

The Ministry of Labor has said 35,344 job opportunities were created in the public and private sectors in the Sultanate of Oman in nine months of 2021.

Between January and September 21, 19,535 job opportunities were created in the units of the state's administrative apparatus, of which 6,446 jobs were as a result of training offered in the government sector.

Most of the appointments were made either through direct employment or the replacement of the expatriate workforce in various government sectors. The Ministry of Education (3,463) and the Ministry of Health (1,107) were top job providers in the public sector.

The private sector was able to provide 8,562 jobs, the report from the Ministry of Labour said.

Among those appointed for the first time in the private sector, 2,025 of them were without a General Education Diploma (GED), 2,664 with a GED and its equivalent, 1,088 with a university diploma, 2,695 people with a university degree, and 90 with a master’s and doctorate.

A total of 1,067 job opportunities were created through the initiatives of the Ministry of Labor, 6180 jobs were as a result of training, which included employment-related training or on-the-job training.

The report said 9,556 citizens benefitted from the Job Security Program, 6,953 were men and 2,603 women from various governorates of the Sultanate of Oman.

The ministry has received requests from 83 private institutions who wanted to collectively terminate the contracts of their national workforce and 128 private institutions who wanted to reduce the wages of the national workforce.

"The ministry dealt with the situation and 45,708 citizens in the private sector due to these efforts."

The Ministry of Labour has been supporting and encouraging the private sector establishments to employ national job-seekers by offering an initiative.

As per the initiative, the government will subsidize the salaries of national employees by RO 200 for two years while the employer pays the difference of the agreed salary provided that the employment period is not less than four years.

Recently, the Ministry of Labour announced the availability of 1,000 job vacancies in government units.

The ministry said that around 1,114 vacancies have been distributed among various educational qualifications in a number of government units.

The announcement will include 587 jobs, including vacant work contracts and replacement opportunities, 241 replacement jobs with financial degrees, and 286 vacant jobs with financial degrees.