As part of developing the country’s human capital, the Ministry of Labour seeks to train its national workforce in accordance with the needs of the market.
For this purpose, the ministry’s action plan for the year 2021 suggests to carry out on-the-job training programme for the job-seekers to maximise their chances of getting employed.
“The ministry will implement policies and strategies for the development of national human capital and organise training programmes for job-seekers to make them suitable for employment,” said Sayyid Salim bin Musallam bin Ali al Busaidy, Under-Secretary for Human Resources Development at the ministry.
According to data provided by the ministry during a press conference which saw the unveiling of the plan, there are about 65,438 job-seekers in the country including 40,572 women. Referring to Oman Vision 2040, Al Busaidy said that there are 12 economic sectors and 14 priorities, while explaining about the national strategy.
“It is the responsibility of everyone to work towards its success. Traditional recruitment processes such as large-scale employment initiatives, cannot continue. The government’s needs for workers will be based on the actual requirements of different sectors”, he said.
Each sector will need to make their requirements known to the Ministry of Labour, “so that it can coordinate with them to serve the growth of these sectors”, he added. The ministry has identified 10 challenges in labour market which need to be addressed to help bring maximum development.
According to the ministry’s 2021 plan, investors and job-seekers must put an end to the practice of relying on government for projects and employment.
“There is absence of real investments by the country’s private sector, which is mostly dependent on government projects. This needs to change,” the plan points out.
With regard to the rise in number of job-seekers in the country, the ministry noted that the supply was huge and demand was not in proportion to it.
The ministry’s executive plan includes supporting various sectors by on-the-job-training and employment of 6,000 job-seekers through programmes for holders of General Education Diplomas and below.
It will also provide on-the-job training programmes for holders of diploma and above, or its equivalent diploma from technical and university colleges.
In collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, the ministry will also train a further 10,000 job-seekers to enhance their skills under the ‘Khabraat’ programme.
This programme will be run and funded across all governorates of the Sultanate, and will give them the skills required to perform in today’s job market.
A total of 3,000 job-seekers will receive training from the Public Authority for SME Development (riyada), while 1,000 have been registered for training under the Etimad scheme.
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