A There has been a lot of talking on expatriates walking into the Arab’s employment market. Prominent companies conduct surveys and showcase the benefits that expatriates can reap from being a part of the Middle East’s job arena. Almost every Mid-east country has more than 50% of its population filled up by expats. However, very less is said about the positioning of natives or emiratis in the competitive employment market of the Middle East. The companies, operating in different Arab nations, find expats suitable for their openings as they find them educated and capable of tackling clients better.
There is a buzz these days, which is roaring loud for the natives and not for the expatriates. What is that actually? Let’s unfold the mystery:
Oman: Building Roads for Emiratis
Showing concern for the natives, in the recent times, a number of Arab nations have started focusing more on bringing in Emiratisation. This will help in building a better road for natives to enter the job market and fill up a huge share of the arena as well. The motive is to lessen the amount of expats and appreciating the emiratis more. One such nation is Oman. The Sultanate is now laying a lot of emphasis on a policy that it brought in almost 2 decades ago.
The country has now decided to frame up a support system that would enable a general reduction in the number of migrants joining the Arab employment market. Will this affect the employment market? There are mixed reactions here. Let us unleash the upshots expected:
The companies operating in the Oil & Gas and Manufacturing domain have been employing cheap foreign labors/professionals to fit into their different job vacancies. The Sultanate of Oman is gradually moving towards putting on a complete ban on taking expats on board. This will definitely affect the mentioned industries as now the companies will have relatively higher salaries to the employees. Omanis have a very high standard in terms of salaries and living; thus they would demand a good pay package. This will impact the companies into oil & gas and their overall employee budgeting.
Under the anti-expatriate policy, a non-Omani will not be allowed switch jobs within the country and if they do so then extermination will be put into force. The main motive for formulating such an acidic policy is to reduce poaching in the private sector. With this, the employee stays in a job against his will and fears of bagging another gig. Moreover, the employee has to work in the company, regardless of the company policies or the harsh working conditions. The low sentiments of skilled employee will definitely affect the employment market.
The fact can’t be denied that expatriates are more skilled than the Omanis and this is even verified by the country itself. Omanisation is a slow yet gradual step towards complete ban on employing the migrants. The latest 2 year expat ban is going to affect the employment market here in a bad way and is definitely going to impact the gross output. The negative impact on the productivity is due to the fact that companies practically need more time to train Omanis. Increased training time will hamper the hours and the delay the projects. The otherwise flourishing employment market of Oman will be impacted in a huge way.
Oman still have a number of high-paying jobs for the expats but the companies fear that complete implementation of the anti-migrant workforce policy may affect the performance. According to the policy, an expat who bags a job in Oman will have to wait for a period of 6 months in here alone. Right after the tenure is complete; the expat can bring in the family in the new country. The clause will prohibit many skilled professionals from entering the job market of Oman and those who have joined can actually not be so productive.
The only positivity that can be seen here is that the employment market of Oman will now see its own people rising and shining on the landscape. In support of the expat system, the Omanis too can have a share of their professional bite here and they can also train themselves to be a fit candidate.
Note: Al-Rasub is not responsible for writer personal opinion, facts and figures.
Tags: Arab Countries, business, Employment Market, Omanisation
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