Oman implemented a policy called "Omanisation" in 1988 to replace expatriate workers with qualified Omani citizens. This was done by setting quotas for different industries to hire a certain percentage of Omani workers. The goal was to reduce unemployment among Omani graduates and lessen economic dependence on foreign workers. While Omanisation has increased opportunities for Omanis and benefited the economy, some industries have struggled to meet quotas due to a lack of qualified Omani applicants. Both opportunities and challenges remain as Oman works to transition to a majority-Omani workforce.

1. Introduction:
Oman, officially known as the Sultanate of Oman, is situated in the Eastern corner of the Arabian
Peninsula. In 1971, Sultan Qaboos bin Said came into power and he has been the sultan ever
since. The economy of Oman is majorly based on the oil and gas sector. Oman is a part of the six
GCC countries. It was during the 1960’s that oil was discovered in Oman, much later than its
other neighbor’ GCC countries. Due to the discovery of oil, many international companies came
into Oman, and which caught the attention of many expatriates. As a result the number of
expatriates grew, and they became a dominant workforce (DeFlumere, n.d.). By 1993, the
population of expats was 535,000 mn (around 26.7 per cent of the population). And by 2010, it
increased to 816,143 mn (around 29.4 per cent).
The policy “Omanisation” was endorsed in 1988 by the Omani government. Its purpose was to
swap the expat workers with qualified and educated Omani staff. The way this policy works is
by setting up certain quotas, which has to be attained in terms of percentage by various
industries. Upon completing the task, green cards are handed out to the industries, which mean
that the industries will be given privileged attention when dealing with the government, and they
will also get press attention. This policy has gained too much importance in the recent years.
Nearly 40,000 Omani students graduate each year, and seek employment in the private sector. In
the beginning the following underlying principle for Omanisation:
 Omani citizens can do the work which is currently being handled by the expat workers.
 To employ Omani’s will help to cause reduction of the spending that occurs through the
consumption of electricity, water and health facilities by the expat workers.
 Reduction in the balance of payments of Oman
 Increase of the domestic spending, which will be possible through the multiplier effect.
This will result in a faster Gross Domestic Product growth.
Below were the listed vacancies for Omani Nationals at the beginning:
 Specialist: Accountants, civil engineers and lawyers
 Technician: Nurse, school teachers, cameraman
 Occupational Worker: Mechanics, sales persons
 Skilled worker: Leather worker, Welder, Typist, Electrician
 Limited skilled worker: operators of machines, tire repairer or fitters, newspaper sellers
Omanisation and its impacts on the private sector:
The sole purpose of this policy is to open up universities, colleges, and training institutes to train
and educate the Omani citizens. After this, the Omani’s are trained to do the work which was
previously done by the expat workers. There are many other intentions of this policy: to motivate
the young generation of Oman to be better citizens and work for their country, to minimize the
dependency on the expat workers, and guarantee low unemployment rates for the Omani citizens

2. (DeFlumere, n.d.). The ministry of manpower predetermined the ratios for Omanisation in the
following areas of the private sector (Report, 2009):
 Transport, storage and communication... 60%
 Tourism and Banking and Hospitality....90%
 Finance, insurance and real estate……...45%
 Engineering jobs in consultancy firms…50%
 Industry………………………………... 35%
 Hotels and restaurants…………………. 30%
 Wholesale/retail trading……………….. 20%
 Contracting…………….………………. 30%
 Oil and Gas……………………………...90%
According to the data of National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), 82,000 expats
have left jobs from the private sectors between the months of January 2013 to May 2014.
Compared to the number of Omani’s working in the private sector of 181,860 in 2013, the
number has increased to 188,669 by May-end 2014 (an increase of 3.7 per cent) (K, 2014).
The goal and vision of Oman’s 2020 plan was to make the private sector as a chief dynamic of
the country’s economy. The government took many steps to make this vision into reality and
implement the steps they had planned. But, along with this they made sure that there would be no
barriers for foreign investment to the local and the foreign investors. The government is taking
up high value projects to create diversity and create job opportunities for the Omani citizens (Al-
Lamki, 2000) .Recent data has showed that the banking sector has so far able to fulfill the quota
of being localized. The Central Bank of Oman is the most successful one, being 92.5 per cent
Omanised. The government targeted a 12.9 billion Rials Omani budget for the education and
training of the Omani’s in 2013. There was availability of nearly 36,000 new jobs for the
Omani’s, and 56,000 in the public sector (HR, 2014). Among the many efforts done by the
Omani government for Omanisation, The Middle East Learning Hub was built in 2006. Using
this facility, Shell has created their base here. This is for all the technical expertise, which is
offered training for the new staff which is hired by Petroleum Development Oman (PDO). The
company called Schlumberger recruits Omani people, around 350 in total. They do it through
many universities of Salalah, and Nizwa, Sultan Qaboos University, and the German University
of Technology. Another best step to make sure that the Omanisation has been implemented is
that all of the officials of the private sector will make sure to sit with Labor Unions and the
personnel of the state and plan strategically to recruit Omani’s to the offices (Group, 2015).

3. Data from the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) shows that the private sector
has acquired a growth of 10.4 per cent (189,931), compared to 172,066 of December 2012 (K,
2104). In the international grade category, Oman got the Omanisation to grade percentage of
42.7 per cent (Observer, 2013). The areas which were least affected by Omanisation were
wholesale and retail trading, fishing and agriculture, community and personal service. In these
sectors 95 per cent of total expat workers are engaged. The Oman Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (OCCI), has requested the Ministry of Manpower (MoM) to relocate the chairmanship
of Omanisation commission to the heads of the private sectors. Experts however say that there
should not be anyone saying that Sultanate of Oman needs to be localized 100 per cent. There is
no current country that has only the locals working, without any international person. To gain
success and prosperity, that should be a diverse workforce, with a balance. The key to be
successful with Omanisation is to employ the youth at a younger level rather than after they get
their masters or PHD (Apex, 2011).
Although Omanisation is a great strategy to motivate the national citizens to work and be
something, recent reports have shows that there have been some problems. Among the top
owners of construction firms in Oman has expressed the problem of recruiting workers for the
contractors because of Omanisation. Among the 723,143 workers, only 57,464 workers are
Omani’s (McElroy, 2014). Another threat is because of the two year ban on expatriates and an
introduction of anti-expat policies, which can be a reason for the weakening of the Oman
economy. There will be a reduction of exports because of un-skilled labor force or labor force
with not the right amount of skills and knowledge of their work. Companies will be required to

4. giving increased training to the workers which will in turn affect the gross output (Sargon, 2014).
The Ministry has stated that companies should have Omani workforce despite the strength it has,
which has become a slight problem for the small companies, which have their work going on
only because of expatriates (GHADANI, 2014).
Conclusion:
An educated and skilled workforce is essential and vital for any country for the security of its
economy and society. Oman envisions the private sector to be the main factor for growth in the
Sultanate of Oman. It also is supporting the Omani’s who are eager to excel in life and does
something for the country, by helping them establish small and large commercial projects.
Omanisation has shown Oman various benefits, among which is the increase for women in the
workforce. Women are now working equally to men, and are educating themselves along with
managing their married lives. Thus, we can conclude that the Sultanate of Oman is on the road to
success, and the economy is expanding at a greater speed than ever. Due to the fast growth of the
economic activity of the country, there is a chance that the country may face labor crisis. The
demand of labor is expected to rise, higher than the supply of labor. But, there will come a time
when maximum number of the citizens will be educated enough to be on the top positions in the
workforce and Oman will be among the leading countries worldwide.

5. Bibliography
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6. GHADANI,F.A.,2014. Axewill fall on firmsfailing Omanisation. [Online]
Available at:http://www.timesofoman.com/News/Article-29327.aspx
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