New National Centre for Employment for Omanis

A centre to unite all employment services in Oman received the approval of the Council of Ministers on Wednesday. Jobseekers will soon have a dedicated and linked up national recruitment centre, thanks to a decision by Oman’s Council of Ministers.

The job centre, set to open by February, will coordinate recruitment processes across the country and make it easier for Omanis to find the right role.

With the establishment of National Centre for Employment (NCE), Omani jobseekers will now be able to get jobs quickly.

The centre is expected to come up by the end of February, according to the government, and was given the green light after the Council of Ministers held a meeting to review the position of the national workforce.

During the meeting, the council agreed on the importance of activating employment tracks in various sectors of the state

The first NCE aims to unite all employment services, according to the Implementation Support and Follow-up Unit (ISFU) of the Tanfeedh programme for economic diversification.

Mohammed Al Busaidi, Chairman of the Youth and Human Resources Development Committee at the Shura Council, told Times of Oman, “We welcome this decision by the Council of Ministers, and personally, I believe that this is the first step towards organising the folders of all job-seekers.”

“The new centre will act as a one-stop centre for jobseekers, to unify employment efforts and effectively coordinate the supply and demand of job opportunities in the Sultanate. The centre will direct jobseekers towards employment opportunities in the private and public sectors,” Al Busaidi added.

The centre has been proposed as a major advancement in merging efforts and coordinating action plans, as it aims to assist the employment process between employers and jobseekers and provide support for both.

“This decision sends a positive message to jobseekers since it was announced at the beginning of the year and indicates that big changes are coming this year,” said Al Busaidi.

“The centre will also follow up with people who have been employed and those who are yet to be employed due to their degrees, in which case, the centre will provide training for those jobseekers or ensure their re-specialisation.”

The NCE will not only deal with the job opportunities that are available but will also analyse the conditions of jobseekers.

“Having such a centre that looks at the demands of the workforce is very important. Any company that wants to hire an expat will not receive a permit if an Omani is found to have similar skills as those needed by the company,” added Al Busaidi.

“Having such a unified centre will make it easier to monitor its progress or challenges. The management of the centre will be shared between the public and private sectors; this is an important element because the focus in the near future will be on the private sector. Therefore, it is important for the sector to be involved in the decision making and monitoring process,” he added.

This article originally appeared on: https://timesofoman.com/article/675693/Oman/New-government-agency-for-Omani-jobseekers