Muscat – Addressing the conference held under the theme of ‘Renewed Labour Market and Regulated Employment Sectors’, H.E. Dr. Mahad bin Said bin Ali Ba’owain, Minister of Labour, indicated that the Omani labour law guarantees the rights of everyone, whether it is a citizen or an expatriate, and that there are continuous visits to companies and establishments to address any issues and find solutions without any delays.

His Excellency explained that the Ministry is completing electronic connectivity with government units, redeveloping the public employment system, the work permit system, employment services, labour welfare services, the resource system, the workforce registry system, the administrative and financial affairs services system. He added that they are also launching new services for employers and the workforce, and pointed out that there is continuous improvement in current electronic services, noting that 75 percent of the digitization of the services provided by the Ministry has been achieved.

The Minister further stated that the Ministry has undertaken to govern the 16 economic sectors as part of its endeavour to create opportunities for job seekers, and explained that there are currently about 71 government agencies implementing the individual proficiency system and 67 entities implementing the institutional proficiency system.

His Excellency said that the Ministry seeks this year to develop policies and strategies to enhance attracting investment through developing labour market policies, preparing the national strategy for professional standards and implementing it, and following up on the national employment policy
He further indicated that the Ministry is working to improve the quality of services by activating a database for electronic job budgeting and developing the call center. Besides, the Ministry is improving the services it provides to beneficiaries by implementing the ‘ISO 9001’ system in government units.
Highlighting positive trends and job statistics, His Excellency pointed out that the number of opportunities that were filled last year was more than 40,000 in the fields of employment, replacement, and training coupled with employment, out of a total target of 35,000 job opportunities – the rate exceeding 115 percent.

His Excellency added that the total employment for the first time, in addition to those who had previously worked, exceeded 70,000 last year, explaining that the Ministry of Labour aims during the current year to create 35,000 jobs in the public and private sectors, achieving a rate of 90 percent for job replacement in the government sector.

His Excellency indicated that the total number of workers in permanent and temporary jobs in the government sector until the end of August 2023 amounted to about 195,902 employees, while the number of the workforce in the private sector until the end of 2023 reached 2,145,553 workers.
He also stressed that the Ministry is studying a number of professional standards and labour market needs and adopting general frameworks for implementing the professional accreditation system.