Abstract
The government of Oman is diversifying its economy away from a reliance on oil and supporting the emergence of a competitive private sector. This requires developing the skills of its national workforce and increasing productivity in the private sector, while not disrupting the supply of foreign workers that firms need to become competitive. Like other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the Oman labour market relies heavily on foreign workers, who made up 77 per cent of the total workforce in 2020. Omani nationals dominate the public sector, while foreign workers are more numerous in the private sector. In 2020, 86 per cent of public sector employees were Omani nationals, nearly half of whom were women. However, nationalization policies have brought more Omanis into the private sector, and over the past decade, the private sector has employed more Omani nationals than the public sector. Looking ahead, a key element of the government’s diversification policies will be to ensure that the country maintains the right skills mix to allow its private sector to develop and thrive. The Omani Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) aims to play a role in assessing and tracking the skills needs of the economy, as well as identifying bottlenecks that might be thwarting the country’s diversification efforts. This report presents the results of a survey of 106 firms in Oman, conducted between May and June 2022, to assess Oman’s skills mix and needs. Together with desk research, the survey results can help Omani businesses, policymakers, workers organizations, and employers and business membership organizations (EBMOs) to better assess policy options, especially as they pertain to the skills development of nationals and to skills-based international recruitment.