MUSCAT: Following the significant rise in e-commerce business especially in the time of coronavirus pandemic, there is a huge demand for delivery jobs in the country. His Excellency Dr. Ahmed Al Futaisi, Minister of Transport on Thursday announced the government’s plans to nationalize the online delivery profession for restaurants and cafes. 

On Friday, the Ministry issued a detailed clarification following discussion among social media users on the regulatory measures that will be taken to enable a supportive environment for the Omani citizens to work in logistical profession.

“We have seen the growth of e-commerce and changing consumer’s behavior in the Sultanate, especially in the current circumstances, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the delivery’s business has gained unprecedented attraction by Omani youth due to its association with e-commerce and the use of modern technologies in tracking, customer satisfaction and gaining renewable skills,” the statement from the Ministry said. 

According to the Ministry an e-commerce platform receives a daily average of 15,000 requests and the delivery fees go to expats and those illegal workers who are satisfied with very modest amounts of money. “This needs to be controlled,” the Ministry said. 

However, the ministry said there are great challenges faced by the Omani youth in competing with expats in this market. “The delivery services are being publicly operated by expats even though these are already Omanised

“There are many Omani youths who deliver an average 27-33 requests per day in 22 days per month and their monthly income exceeds OMR 980, and the income can be increased by increasing the requests. This profession can also be practised as part or additional work,” Ministry explained. 

 “Economists expect that this business will witness significant growth during the next ten years, in light of the growth of e-commerce that the world is witnessing in general, as the ministry is working with its partners in the logistics sector to create an integrated national platform to organize and register the national workforce in the field of transport and delivery services integrated with the others platforms in order to ensure the application of the highest professional standards in addition to their training in this field, requirements will also be imposed on electronic platforms, which provide delivery services so that they deal only with the Omani delivery representatives who will be licensed,” Ministry added. 

The statement concluded, ”The profession of delivery representative requires multiple skills related to e-commerce sciences and the use of modern technologies in tracking, automatic talks and customer satisfaction.”