Tuesday 26 / November / 2024
Despite the economic slowdown Oman is currently experiencing, the country still has the ability to create thousands of jobs per year but employers are faced with the problem of finding the right match for the available vacancies.
The job mismatch prevents employers from finding the right candidates they are looking for. Successful employment entirely depends when skills meet the job requirements. Difficulties in finding the right job match frustrates employers as well as job seekers.
Many companies would tell you that they advertise the same jobs a number of times because they do not find the right candidates to fit in. This is across the board in every sector, whether technical jobs are involved or administrative. The mismatch problem also spans job categories ranging from the relatively low skilled to highly specialised ones in both the private and public sectors.
Attitude
The second problem is the attitude of applicants. This is not confined to a particular age group. However, the young applicants are more prone than older job seekers. Young Omanis in their twenties, especially first time job seekers, have misplaced expectations. In other words, they are very selective when it comes to which jobs they want.
Their expectations often do not match job availability. They often apply for jobs are not suited to their skills. They shun positions that match their background because the jobs on the offer are “beneath” them.
Some companies even complain that young Omanis simply have unrealistic expectations about the jobs on offer to the point of arrogance.
These are the jobs that stay vacant for quite a long time not because the right skills are not available but people with the right skills to fill them do not want the jobs. Needless to say that attitude affects the recruitment process.
According to the Ministry of Manpower records, about 12,000 new positions are registered every year but only 52 percent are filled.
For example, graduates are reluctant to make compromises. They are not willing to make adjustments to slightly deviate from what they studied in universities.
Shift work is another factor graduates try to avoid. Furthermore, they will not accept jobs that involve travelling or accept positions away from Muscat.
Employers also find trouble matching the financial expectations of job seekers, whether experienced or new applicants. This is particularly true in the private sector.
Omanis still prefer to work for the government because the starting salaries are higher than what offered in the companies. For example, while the private employers offer OMR700 for graduates the government offers OMR900, which is about a third higher.
Skills issue
When they could land the right skills for the positions, employers find it difficult to keep its talents onboard for long. A few years experience in the work place is enough to make young Omanis restless. They move on to leave the gap behind.
Between 2011 and 2015, the civil service and government’s organisations have created more jobs than the private sector. It looks good on paper but the realities are different. Most of these jobs were created not to match the skills of applicants but for the sake of getting Omanis out of the streets.
This is where the private companies now find hard to follow. It has also sent a wrong message to Omanis that ‘you don’t have to fit the requirement to get the job you are looking for.’
As a result, graduates still wait to join the government workforce instead of taking whatever is available in the private sector.
For the working Omanis, they apply for a job in the public sector the moment one is advertised. The graduates who wait create a backlog of job seekers even when positions are available.
The experienced staff leaving their jobs for the government posts compounds the problem of talent recruitment in companies. It has become a silent vicious circle. It is all now blamed to lower oil prices but the realities are far from this.
In conclusion, the Ministry of Manpower can testify that there are jobs available but Omanis job seekers must lower their expectations and change their attitudes.
The job matching the private sector is looking for is not about what certificate one holds or experience but the willingness to make a little sacrifice and an effort to fit into the workplace.
