Ministry of Labour targets 45,000 jobs in 2025
His Excellency Dr. Mahad bin Saeed Ba'awin, the Minister of Labour, emphasised the Ministry's commitment to training programmes linked to employment, on-the-job training, and wage support. These initiatives will be delivered through various channels, including support for small and medium enterprises holding Riyada cards, large companies, start-ups, freelance work, and temporary contracts within government companies for replacement purposes. The Ministry is actively monitoring companies participating in the training-linked-employment programme, with a compliance rate exceeding 82 percent.
The Minister also stated that the total employment target for 2024 reached 36,615 individuals, surpassing the initial target of 35,000 job opportunities. Furthermore, the number of active beneficiaries of the job security benefit reached approximately 17,215 individuals by the end of 2024, including 11,758 males. As part of ongoing efforts to improve government performance, the "Individual Excellence" system has been implemented in 67 government entities, including the introduction of 45 new features to enhance the work experience and individual and institutional evaluation. Government departments will be assessed based on operational speed, leadership quality, and job satisfaction, ultimately enhancing the efficiency of government work and raising overall performance standards.
During the conference, the Minister addressed the efforts of the National Employment Programme, which aims to integrate educational outcomes with labour market needs. This is achieved by analysing and diagnosing the employment system and providing innovative solutions to enhance its efficiency and bridge existing gaps. The programme has contributed to the localisation of 2,800 leadership and mid-level positions in industrial estates, in collaboration with the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Madayn). Additionally, the programme has launched several advanced digital tools to improve labour market efficiency, including the "Tawteen" platform for managing employment in economic sectors, the "Marsad" platform for analysing labour market data, and the "Khuta" platform for assisting Omani youth in making sustainable career decisions.
The Minister emphasised that employment governance committees, established in 17 key economic sectors, are working to achieve qualitative localisation goals and enhance employment opportunities for Omanis. Work is also underway to establish specialised companies to enable job seekers to enter new sectors, such as information technology and periodic maintenance, which manages maintenance contracts in industrial zones. Regarding entrepreneurship support, the Ministry has launched an integrated package to support freelance work, including financing, training, social protection, and consulting, as well as supporting Omani freelance platforms.
The Ministry has announced funding for the pilot phase of the "Smart Management" project, in collaboration with the private sector, to enhance digital governance in human resources management. Three pilot applications will be designed to test artificial intelligence solutions, build a visual identity, and establish a digital knowledge base. The "Waiting List" initiative will also be launched to facilitate employment opportunities through smart systems. The Minister confirmed that the Ministry continues to adopt global best practices in digital transformation, explaining that these efforts will contribute to raising the efficiency of government work, improving the employee experience, and ensuring the integration of operational policies between the public and private sectors.
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