Opinion-From support to empowerment: Why Oman must rethink its social-economic path
Published: 04:11 PM,Nov 29,2025 | EDITED : 12:12 PM,Dec 01,2025
Oman is standing at an important moment in its economic journey. The country has strengthened its social system through the Social Protection Law of 2023 and the establishment of the Social Protection Fund, creating one of the region’s most modern and integrated welfare structures. These reforms were designed to protect families, reduce vulnerability and ensure social stability. But as the economy evolves, a more fundamental question is emerging: Can support alone prepare people for the future, or is Oman ready to shift towards genuine empowerment?
Support helps people survive. Empowerment helps them progress. This is the core of the debate — and the future of Oman’s development depends on getting it right.
Oman provides essential assistance to vulnerable families, covering basic needs and helping them withstand economic pressures. This safety net is vital and must continue. But support, by its nature, is temporary. It offers relief, not transformation. It helps a family make it through the month, but it doesn’t give them the tools to take a bigger role in the economy or lift themselves into a more secure and productive life.
Empowerment is different. It is about building skills, creating opportunities and opening real pathways for people to work, innovate and grow. It turns those who rely on support into active participants in the economy. It strengthens the labour force, expands the private sector and reinforces the foundations of long-term growth.
This shift has already started in Oman, but it needs deeper focus and faster momentum. The Ministry of Labour is expanding training programmes that directly lead to jobs in logistics, industry, energy and port operations. In Dhofar Governorate, for example, young people have been trained and hired through a “Tamkeen” model that links skills directly to employment commitments. It is a promising approach, but it needs to be scaled nationally so more young Omanis can benefit.
At the same time, the Social Protection Fund is designed not just to deliver benefits, but also to help low-income families move towards economic independence. Its mandate includes connecting families with vocational programmes, micro-business tools and financial inclusion initiatives. This is a structural change, but it requires stronger coordination with industry, banks, educational institutions and local communities to create real impact.
Oman is also making progress in its In-Country Value (ICV) strategy, especially in energy and mining. Companies in these sectors now allocate a significant share of their spending to Omani SMEs, with some operators directing more than 19% of their procurement locally. Cumulatively, more than $1.8 billion in contracts has gone to Omani enterprises. This is a powerful platform for job creation and entrepreneurship. But these opportunities often go to businesses already established, not to families or jobseekers who need a first step into the market. Here lies the missing link: preparing vulnerable groups to become suppliers and service providers within these fast-growing sectors.
Empowerment is not only socially meaningful; it is economically smarter. When a family moves from assistance to running a small business, their contribution to the local economy multiplies. When a jobseeker becomes a technician in a hydrogen project or a worker in a logistics hub, they become part of national growth. These changes reduce long-term dependency and create stronger, more resilient communities.
For Oman to fully shift from support to empowerment, three priorities stand out. First, part of the support provided to families should be converted into productive tools — training, equipment, or starter grants that help people build income-generating activities. Second, low-income families and jobseekers must be connected more deliberately to supply chains in Suhar, Al Duqm, Salalah, Khazaen and the country’s energy and mining zones. These areas require services that micro-businesses and home-based enterprises can provide, from catering and transport to packaging, maintenance and agricultural supply. Third, Oman needs richer, more dynamic data on the capabilities, aspirations and challenges of the families receiving support. The Social Register is a major achievement, but empowerment requires detailed profiles that match people with opportunities.
Oman has the legal frameworks, the digital systems, the industrial plans and the national vision needed to make empowerment the cornerstone of its next economic phase. But real progress will depend on how well different institutions — governmental, private and social — work together to place vulnerable groups inside the economic cycle, not on its edges.
Support must continue, because it protects lives. But empowerment must accelerate, because it transforms them. The true measure of national progress is not only how well we assist those in need, but how effectively we help them rise, participate and contribute to the prosperity of the nation.