Meeting Reviews Enhancement of National
Employment System Efficiency, Employment Rates

Muscat, 23 Oct
(ONA) — Dr. Mahad bin Said Ba’Owain, Minister of Labour and Supervisor
General of the National Employment Programme, convened a meeting today with the
heads of the Employment Governance Committees across economic sectors. The
session focused on strategies to enhance the efficiency of the national
employment framework and elevate employment rates throughout the Sultanate of
Oman.

The meeting
served to evaluate the system’s executive performance, review key performance
indicators and interim results, address current operational challenges, and
assess ongoing developmental programmes. These efforts align with the
employment objectives outlined in “Oman Vision 2040,” which envisions
establishing an organized, adaptable, and competitive labour market founded on
effective governance principles, precise data management, and comprehensive
sectoral planning – all contributing to national workforce empowerment and
sustainable economic development.

The Minister
of Labour emphasized the critical role of the committees in strengthening the
national employment infrastructure and preparing national cadres in accordance
with labour market demands. He highlighted the strategic importance of the
“Tawteen” digital platform in regulating the labour market and
ensuring comprehensive sector registration. The platform enhances monitoring of
current and projected employment indicators, identifies qualitative skill gaps,
and tracks supply-demand dynamics across economic sectors – enabling
evidence-based policy formulation and targeted qualification programmes that
ensure citizen empowerment and career advancement opportunities. He further
noted the committees’ vital role in supporting the self-employment ecosystem.

Discussions
also addressed governance enhancement through improved coordination among
partner entities, development of robust monitoring mechanisms, database
integration, and optimization of labour market management procedures.
Participants reviewed compliance enforcement with employment regulations and
assessed progress on priority strategic initiatives and short-term projects,
including achievement metrics, advancement rates, and anticipated impacts on
employment dynamics and citizen access to labour market opportunities.

The meeting
featured a comprehensive presentation on the “Tawteen” digital
platform, detailing registered company statistics, private sector engagement
levels, current job vacancy data, projected opportunities, and public awareness
campaigns. Additional discussions covered licensing request processing and its
integration with functional compliance standards, demonstrating the Ministry’s
commitment to digital transformation and public-private sector collaboration in
service of national labour market development.

Significant
attention was devoted to addressing primary labour market challenges, including
enhancing job productivity and quality, aligning educational outcomes with
economic sector requirements, improving compliance across economic activities,
and fostering workplace culture in target sectors. The committee proposed
targeted solutions and developmental interventions, including expanded private
sector partnerships, enhanced regulatory frameworks, workplace environment
improvements, and advanced skills development programmes.

The Committees’
heads delivered detailed sectoral presentations highlighting key achievements,
qualitative milestones, and projects contributing to improved employment indicators
and institutional performance within their respective domains. The
presentations also addressed implementation challenges related to labour market
fluctuations and requirements for enhancing productivity, job sustainability,
and employment quality.

Participants
reviewed ongoing initiatives and approved strategic plans for the upcoming
phase, including the development of sectoral planning tools, expansion of
private sector collaboration, strengthened regulatory compliance, and quality
enhancement of technical and behavioural skills programmes to ensure
professional readiness and sustainable career development for Omani citizens.

They also
reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining an integrated institutional approach
that strengthens system efficiency while aligning with national economic
priorities. They further pledged support for national initiatives targeting
productive employment growth and developing an enabling environment for the
national workforce in the coming period.

These committees
enable sector regulatory bodies to identify genuine workforce requirements and
align them with national output capabilities, while fostering public-private
cooperation through shared platforms that unify efforts toward achieving
operational and economic objectives.

The governance
committees operate within a unified regulatory framework chaired by relevant
Undersecretaries or sector regulatory heads, with membership comprising
government and private sector representatives, Ministry of Labour’s officials,
professional associations, and the National Employment Programme. Committee
competencies include monitoring strategic objective implementation aligned with
economic development priorities, developing sector policies to enhance
sustainability and competitiveness, and increasing Omanisation rates through
direct engagement with sector companies and institutions.

Additional
committee responsibilities encompass creating operational and training plans
with measurable performance indicators, promoting innovation and technology
adoption to increase productivity, strengthening partnership frameworks,
ensuring compliance with professional and quality standards, enhancing local
value addition within contract systems and supply chains, managing work permits
through the “Tawteen” platform to align market needs with employment
realities, and submitting periodic progress reports on operational objective
achievement.

The Employment
Governance Committees span 18 economic sectors selected based on growth
projections and employment potential, characterized by their capacity to
generate quality employment and value-added investments. These include:
Communications, Public Services, School Education, Tourism, Real Estate
Development, Financial Services, Healthcare, Food Security, Information
Technology, Higher Education, Manufacturing Industries, Special Economic Zones
and Free Zones, Energy and Minerals, Transport, Sports, Construction, Retail,
Banking, and Media.

The meeting
concluded with renewed commitment to an integrated institutional approach based
on governance and strategic planning, role integration across system
components, precise monitoring of indicators and initiatives, and accelerated
implementation of labour market impact projects. Participants emphasized
continuous development of regulatory and analytical tools, digital platform
enhancement, and activated partnerships with relevant entities to build an
organized, sustainable labour market aligned with national priorities. These
efforts support the “Oman Vision 2040” in relation to employment and
demonstrate the Ministry of Labour and partners’ dedication to employment
governance best practices, ultimately empowering the national workforce and
expanding career opportunities for sustainable, balanced economic development.

—
Ends/Khalid