Omanisation should make upskilling mandatory

Omanisation is an excellent employment policy. It aims to ensure that citizens benefit directly from the country’s economic growth by increasing their participation in the private sector and preparing young Omanis for productive careers.

However, for Omanisation to achieve its full potential, employment must be linked to meaningful training and education. A job on paper, without proper supervision or a structured plan for learning, does little to prepare a young Omani for the future. Some companies employ young Omanis simply to meet their legal quota while failing to give them the skills and experience needed to build a career. The purpose of Omanisation should not be merely to increase the number of Omanis listed on company payrolls. Its purpose should be to create a capable national workforce able to occupy skilled, managerial positions across the economy.

There is a clear difference between genuine and nominal employment. In a genuine job, a young Omani is given real responsibilities, practical experience, guidance and an opportunity to develop. In nominal employment, the person is hired mainly so that the company can comply with the law. The employee may receive a basic salary but have no proper duties, no useful training and no realistic prospect of advancement. Such an arrangement is unfair to the young Omani and wasteful for the country. It leaves the employee unprepared for another job if the position ends and won’t develop the skilled workforce Oman needs. It is also demoralising for young Omanis who have been given employment but no clear prospects.

Companies that employ young Omanis under Omanisation requirements should therefore be obliged to provide relevant training for the jobs in which they are recruited. Training should not be treated as an optional benefit or left entirely to the goodwill of individual employers. It should be a clear legal responsibility connected to the employment itself. Every company recruiting young Omanis should be required by law to submit a detailed training course plan for government approval. The plan should include a precise job description, the employee’s duties, the skills and knowledge to be gained, the duration of the training, the identity of the trainers or supervisors, the practical experience to be provided and the method by which progress will be assessed. It should also explain what standards the employee is expected to reach and what opportunities may be available for further development or promotion.

The training plan must be relevant to the job. A short induction session or a few informal instructions should not be accepted as a proper training programme. The responsibility should apply to both employers and employees. Companies must provide the approved training, assign meaningful work and monitor the progress of their young Omani employees. Young Omanis, in turn, should be obliged to attend the training courses, complete the required work and meet the standards set out in the programme. The success of Omanisation should not be measured only by the number of Omanis employed.

Perhaps a new government employment inspectorate could monitor the Omani employees’ progress and offer support and advice as needed to both employers and young Omanis. Inspectors could make regular visits to companies and ask relevant questions of the employers: do Omani employees have clear duties? Are they acquiring useful skills? Are they receiving proper supervision? Are they progressing into positions of greater responsibility? A government-approved training plan would make it more difficult for companies to employ Omanis merely to fill a quota. They would also give young employees a clear understanding of what is expected and what they can expect in return. Young Omanis do not need jobs that exist only on paper. They need genuine opportunities to learn and build lasting careers.

Omanisation places Omani citizens at the centre of the country’s economic future. But to make it effective, every obligation to employ an Omani should be matched by an obligation to train that person properly.