Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Spotlight: Ready for any job

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A noticeable change is seen in the preferences of Omani youths as far as their approach to jobs is concerned.


Contrary to the earlier belief that working in ministries, public authorities and entities like banks would fetch them better salary, dignity and acceptance in the society, the youngsters are now ready to take up jobs that provide them with skills to excel besides a decent salary.


“When we announced our vacancies for the positions from chef to stewards, we expected a mild response to some positions,” said Khalid al Mamari, an HR executive with a leading hotel in Muscat.


But the response from the local workforce, he said, was overwhelming.


“We have received a good number of applicants for all the positions across the board indicating that all jobs are attractive to the national workforce,” he added.


The case with other sectors, whether it is service, retail or trading, is no different. There is a certain sense of respect, commitment and dedication as the youths have become more career-oriented.


“We wanted to hire some local men for some jobs — skilled and unskilled works. We have got sufficient number of candidates for these posts,” Ashraf Omar, a trading company proprietor said.


At a job fair organised by the Ministry of Manpower in association with the Ministry of Tourism on Monday for various positions among 50 corporates, over 1,800 Omani men and women walked in for interviews.


While majority of them were fresh graduates, a few of them were looking for the option to job change.


There were 400 vacancies in offer and most of the vacancies were filled in by evening, the participants said.


“We had some less than 10 positions like kitchen staff, soup chef, receptionist, waiters, and the like. We received nearly 40 applications from whom we shortlisted candidates who are suitable for our jobs,” Wadhah al Alawi, a PR Manager with a leading hotel said.


He said that most of the job applicants were women.


He said that this scenario is a proof of the attitudinal shift that is taking place in the job market.


“It is a good sign, but the question is whether the new generation workforce is capable of facing the challenges of future in terms of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data and Internet of Things (IoT),” he said.


According to Fousiya al Shehhi, educationist and head of a private institution, what the future would need is not memorisation but one simple thing, ‘thinking’, and schools and teachers would teach the children how to think over subjects and not memorise the lengthy answers to questions.


“All the challenges of future job market will be opportunities for the local manpower if we keep giving them training and development programmes as we give now to empower and nurture their true potentials to the fullest,” adds Al Shehhi.


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