Job worries force educated expats to leave

MUSCAT: With companies scaling back their workforce, the number of educated expatriates working in Oman is dropping, experts said.

Data showed that the number of expatriates holding doctors, masters, higher diplomas, university and diploma degrees declined by more than 1,800 in the first seven months of 2016.

In December 2015, the number of PhD holders was 2,844, but at the end of July it was 2,744.

The number of master’s degree holders stood at 5,869 at the end of 2015, but slipped to 5,740 at the end of July 2016.

The number of higher diploma holders and university students also dropped from 4,889 to well-educated expats left Oman in the first seven months of the year 4,866 and from 94,461 to 93,283 respectively.

The number of diploma holders fell from 53,515 to 53,101 between December 2015 and July 2016, according to National Centre for Statistics (NSCI).

On the contrary, the number of people with no education or education till secondary level rose by 106 and 321, respectively, during the same time.

Job security

Tonia Gray, general manager at Competence HR, said in her experience most qualified and experienced expatriates, who have chosen to leave Oman, have done so due to concerns related to job security, career development and their ability to obtain better packages in other countries, particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).