Job opportunities for young Omanis shrinking

Iknow you don’t want to, but really, you have to, because even if the price of oil was to rise to $100 per barrel, today, it’s not all a question of money!” As I mused over what someone “didn’t want to do,” having arrived part way through a discussion, I must admit that I wasn’t surprised by the context of the conversation as I joined in. Recent speculation about currency was a part of the discussion, as was the impact of the Opec agreement to cut worldwide oil production levels, but at the end of the day it was all about jobs for Omanis, or should I say a lack of jobs for Omanis.

The Sultanate has two significant problems, which I have touched on previously, in that, not only does it have a significant expatriate labour and work force, but it is a work force that remits the majority of its salaries home, especially those working in menial employment. We all know how the service, hospitality and construction industries benefit from the expatriate labour, so I won’t re-hash it here.

The last figures I have been able to find for remittances, was from 2015, when $10.3 billion, that’s a whopping slice of the GDP pie, around one-eighth. Now I’m not being elitist when I suggest that the bulk of the problem lies in the South/South-East Asian region, but practical. Most ‘European’ expatriates actually spend money in Oman, so the dynamic is significantly different. It is simply not sustainable for so much hard-earned, cash currency to be ‘exported,’ every year.

At the same time, there is significant ‘shrinkage’ within the public sector, in terms of job opportunities, especially for young Omanis, as the economy contracts due to the lower oil returns.

Tourism, always touted as the sustainable economic alternative, has not developed as far as it should either, as the lack of a coordinated, coherent plan for the future based on the realities of world tourism, deprive the Sultanate of what should be a massive opportunity.

Many of the young people of Oman are being ‘dis-incentivised’ by their current lack of opportunity to make the most of their education, as they are unable to take up employment upon graduation, with the health, IT, and engineering sectors all feeling the pinch at the moment. Especially those on the wrong (female) side of the gender gap, are hurting.

So what has to happen? In my opinion, the young Omanis need hope.

And just how is anyone expected to do that? Again in my opinion, we could, and should, institute these policies: Carry out an urgent evaluative audit of the education system’s ability to produce students who can do the three ‘r’s’ of readin’, (w)ritin, and ‘A’rithmetic, at primary school, and also to think critically, and make decisions. To review the manner in which students are granted an avenue of ‘major’ study. There must be an end to arbitrary placement based on secondary school marks that have little efficacy. Major study should be determined on the basis of passion or enthusiasm, which can sustain a student ‘when the going gets tough!’ Carry out an evaluative audit on the Higher Education sector too, though more as to its ability to produce high quality graduates in specialisations that are needed. This should be enhanced with limitations on arts based scholarships, with science, engineering, and technology preferred for assistance. Subsidise, or grant taxation relief, to those employers who will replace an expatriate work visa, with a vacancy for an Omani. Yes, the salary paid will have to be higher, however that is the only cost for an Omani employee, so there will be savings. This is where a ‘sinking lid’ policy could work well. Subsidised, or tax exempt internships for young Omanis are another way of getting them into an ‘employment aware’ mode. It gives the youth an opportunity to understand the obligations and responsibilities of being an employee in today’s world. You should offer, real, live, employment advice to young Omanis, to give them hope, and not to sugar-coat the realities of economies, economics, and job markets. If they can be made to understand the realities, then their expectations will not hurt them so much when they aren’t realised. However, due to modified expectations, when they get an opportunity, they will treat it with much more respect. Lose expatriates who can be replaced by Omanis, as soon as practicable. However, it is important that the Omani is not merely a nominee for the position, but able to do the job. And here is where I came in... what he didn’t want to do, was roll up his sleeves, metaphorically speaking, and do some real graft. Too many young Omanis have rose-tinted specs.

They want an education, a degree, and a job. But! They don’t particularly want to work. It’s simply that they’ve never had to, yet it’s their world that’s changing, and today, you get nothing for nothing.