‘Open field for investors’
“With the changes that we have seen in the economy, the expectation is that policies and regulations will change along with it. However, our view is that some of the regulations have become very challenging to implement, given the current economic conditions companies are facing, and those regulations should be looked at again and changed to reflect the current situation,” Al Balushi added.
Aziz Al Hasani, Shura Council member, said, “We are in an on-going meeting with private sector officials and they assured us that there are many job opportunities that can be available annually to jobseekers in different sectors but this needs an administrative organising.”
“The legislative authorities must sit down and talk to the private sector and listen to their demands to modify some regulations and policies. On the other hand, the Ministry of Manpower must update job titles because the list of current job titles does not meet the needs of the private sector. Many private companies have enough staff and they cannot absorb more jobseekers, so it is necessary to open the field for investors from abroad and improve new sectors such as tourism, agriculture and fisheries. This will create more jobs for citizens. Additionally, we must begin longterm planning instead of reactions to specific situations,” he added.
“Another solution is for middlelevel jobs to be given to citizens immediately because it is not logical that there are no Omanis who can fill positions at this level. Training opportunities should be provided to young people in private sector institutions during their studies so that there is no excuse for institutions not to employ them after graduation,” said Al Hasani.
Hamid Hamirani, Senior Economist at the Ministry of Finance Minister’s Office, said, “To earn a decent living is a basic human right. It is important to create quality earning potential for Omani nationals. Direct employment is not the only source of creating quality earning; fostering SMEs and entrepreneurship is equally if not more important as we are at the cusp of a technological revolution that is disrupting conventional methods of earning a living.”