Renewed Focus
HE Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Bakri, Minister of Manpower spoke to OER on the latest Omanisation percentages. Excerpts of the interview

What is the progress in the rate of Omanisation till date?
The National Manpower Seminar coupled with the joint action by public and private sector enterprises to implement the recommendations of this seminar resulted in a remarkable increase in the number of national manpower at the private sector institutions.

The latest statistics show that the number of Omanis working in the private sector increased from 98,200 in 2000 to 275,751 by the end of April 2009, an increase of 14 per cent year-on-year. This reflects the success of Omanisation in various sectors of the economy. As for the temporary labour force in the private sector, statistics reveal that their number stood at 170,387, as of April end 2009. Around 81.1 per cent of this workforce is males. Statistics also show that the national manpower in the private sector also witnessed a remarkable growth in terms of technical and scientific skills. Many private sectors now warmly welcome fresh Omani graduates who have the right qualification and training.

What are the major challenges in increasing Omanisation percentages?
Many sectors still suffer from lack of skilled national manpower, therefore we have no option but to allow expatriate recruitments. On the other hand, many private sector enterprises pay poor salary and give few work incentives, which results in higher turnover of national manpower. Many candidates are also not willing to work everywhere in the country and prefer to work in areas close to their homes.

In a bid to overcome such challenges, the Ministry of Manpower is coordinating with the private companies to ensure that Omani workers have conducive work environments and get proper incentives. We are also making endeavours to limit the competition in the market by Omanising certain professions after ensuring that Omanis can take up such jobs. The Ministry of Manpower has also undertaken a campaign under the theme “Let’s Work” to raise awareness on vocational training and technical education. We also encourage employers and employees to change their mindsets and make every possible effort to ensure the success of Omanisation. We have also initiated a number of training programmes for Omani youth to improve their skills, knowledge and quality suitable to the job market.

Some sectors like oil and gas, electricity and water, banks and telecommunications have achieved high Omanisation
rates. Other sectors such as trade, tourism, transportation, navigation, auto industry, heavy industries, IT, private education, consultancy offices and accounting professions are doing well and are in a position to achieve the specified Omanisation rates. It should be noted that the construction industry has achieved the preset Omanisation rates in the sixth five-year plan (2001-2005). The numerous development projects of the seventh five-year plan have created a number of job opportunities for the national manpower. This in turn has helped many organisations to achieve the Omanisation rates stipulated by the Ministry of Manpower.

Does deadline pressure on projects make companies to recruit expats instead of national manpower?
As I mentioned earlier, the Sultanate is witnessing a remarkable growth in all walks of life; a fact evident from the number of ongoing projects and the growth in the number of private enterprises. This boom has resulted in high demand for expatriates. However, this should not be interpreted as ‘Omanis do not have the skills and resources to complete projects efficiently on time’. We should be aware that many Omanis play a key role in setting up new companies and managing ventures. Many of them also hold senior posts in different private sector companies.

Moreover, the national manpower has made great success stories in all walks of life especially in business. Omanis now hold posts right from unskilled jobs to senior managerial positions. Many private companies are allocating resources and endeavouring to train national manpower at specialised training centres. Many private companies have also set up their own training institutes to ensure continued development of the national manpower. Many major companies allocate huge funds to set up technical laboratories and provide the colleges of technologies with state of the art lab and training equipment especially in IT and engineering fields. This highlights the role played by private companies in training national manpower.

How do the vocational training institutes meet the needs of the market?
Vocational training institutes provide a number of tailored training programmes to cater to the needs of different sectors. They provide courses in electromechanical works, welding, carpentry and auto repair. Some training courses extend upto three years while some are short-term courses.

The Ministry also provides a number of on-the-job training opportunities linked to employment. These training programmes are funded by the government and the graduates will join work after successful completion of these courses. The number of beneficiaries of such programmes numbered 4491 in 2008. They have been provided with the required skills that enable them to join construction, travel, tourism, communication, transportation, oil and gas and industry sectors.

What is the progress in technical education?
The government attaches great priority to technical education. The Higher colleges of technologies are regarded as advanced training institutes. The technical education programme has witnessed a remarkable growth as is evident from the number of students enrolled at technical education which increased from 2,204 in the academic year 2001-02 to 6,844 in 2008-09; a 17 per cent annual growth. The number of students enrolled in technical disciplines also rose from 4,971 in 2002 to 21,450 in 2009, a growth of 33.2 per cent year-on-year.

The colleges of technologies have developed tremendously in terms of infrastructure, study majors, teaching methodologies, practical training and meeting the needs of the market. Figures show that the number of study majors rose from 13 in 2003 to 23 in 2009; most of which are scientific and engineering majors. During the period from 2003 to 2008, seven new disciplines have been introduced namely oil & gas engineering, commerce, IT, accounting, CAT, design and fashion, photography and mechatronics.

During its second meeting in 2009, the board of trustees of the colleges of technology approved new specialties that include chemical engineering, petrochemicals, vocational health and safety, medical equipment engineering and insurance. The number of disciplines at the technical college now stands at 37. They play a key role in meeting the needs of the private sector companies for skilled manpower.
 
 

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