Work quality

“They have not called me back during these two years,” said Abood

Rabia Alsadi, Programmer Devices Engineer, said: “One of the mistakes in the private sector is the lack of confidence in the Omani graduate’s qualifications, productivity and their work quality, so they grant the job opportunities to expats.”

A large slice of jobs market in Oman is taken by expatriates, according to statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) in 2016.

1,825,603 jobs are occupied by expatriates, while Omanis only occupy 429,800 jobs in both government and private sectors.

“My friend has a degree from SQU in English, and after waiting for many years, he decided to work as a tour guide with a salary of OMR400, to look after his family and his daughter.”

Siham Al Hashemi gained an IT degree five years ago. he said: “Since I graduated, I have not got a job yet. Soon I will complete six years without work, and I take advantage of my time by doing handicrafts materials and selling it to our relatives.”

Shehab Al Mamari, another job-seeker who graduated in 2015, said: “As my bachelor degree was in social science we do not have fair opportunities in private sector and government sector was full of employees.”

He added: “There should be a comprehensive evaluation of education policies at all levels, considering the academic programmes and their suitability to the labour market needs.

“They must establish a training and qualification institute for job seekers under the international standards and speed up replacement of expats and increase the Omanisation rate.”

“The follow-up of Omanisation in private sector establishments is carried out through specialised departments in the ministry, especially the employment departments and the labour inspection departments.”