Spike in Omanis taking up jobs in private sector

He added: “Many Omanis left their jobs in the private sector as they move from one job to another for better income and incentives whether in the public or private sectors.” Mohammed Al Busaidi, the representative for Boushar and Head of the Youth Committee at the Shura Council, thought that the numbers were a good omen for hiring in the private sector. Al Busaidi told Times of Oman: “If these 76,474 are registered for the first time and 67,131 people have left the private sector, then that leaves us with an effective increase of around 9000 or so in terms of the number of people working in the private sector. I think that this is a good start, especially since the economy is not necessarily expanding quickly at the moment. We should keep in mind that the number of new graduates is higher than this increase, so there is still work to be done but this is a positive step forward,” he added.

When asked whether companies needed to continue to hire people, he said, “There are things that the government is doing that can move things forward such as Omanisation. The government could help this along by partially subsidising some positions for new graduates so that companies can hire them more easily. One thing companies are worried about is hiring employees who have degrees but little experience. This is something the government does more often, and companies worry that the employees won’t do as well if they don’t have the experience.

“Furthermore, young entrepre

There are things that the government is doing that can move things forward such as Omanisation

neurs can help ease that load and we should support them,” said Al Busaidi. “But starting a new company can be difficult and requires many factors such as innovation and the will and patience and an idea, so I don’t think we should push young people too much towards starting new companies unless they truly want to.”

Shashwar Al Balushi, the head of the Tanfeedh labour labs had previously explained to Times of Oman that the private sector was interested in hiring skilled people. Al Balushi said: “The private sector is hiring people who are specialised in their fields. This is very much linked to the expertise they have in the work that the company does. Say that someone has a diploma or bachelors in one field and then works in another. The company, if it is an engineering or construction firm, might not hire someone who studied philosophy and then worked as an administrator. They want to hire someone who has worked for a long time in his field and has shown his experienced in the projects that he took part in.”