Tuesday 14 / October / 2025
Muscat: The Education, Research, and Innovation Committee of the Shura Council held a meeting on Tuesday with Khalid Al-Ghamari, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Labour for Labour Affairs, to discuss the alignment of higher education outputs with labour market requirements in the Sultanate of Oman.
The meeting was chaired by Jamal Al-Abri, Chair of the Committee, and attended by the members. At the outset, the Undersecretary presented a detailed briefing on the Ministry’s efforts to enhance the linkage between education and the labour market, highlighting the pivotal role of the Labour Market Observatory in anticipating future job trends.
He explained that the observatory relies on analytical studies of the population structure, national economic indicators, and promising sectors, which has contributed to the localisation of many professions for Omani nationals through well-designed policies and targeted programmes implemented by the Ministry.
He further stated that the observatory has played a key role in improving the quality of higher education outputs by providing academic institutions with accurate data to guide the development of academic specialisations aligned with market needs.
He added that the Ministry is also working on developing initiatives in several key professions to achieve a balance between employment opportunities and market dynamics.
This integration between educational and professional policies, he noted, supports the preparation of highly qualified national cadres capable of competing across diverse fields.
The Undersecretary also reviewed the Ministry’s role in advancing the vocational sector through continuous training and qualification programmes in cooperation with the private sector and foreign investments.
He noted that, through the Training Support Fund, the Ministry is formulating plans to enhance the qualifications of educational and vocational personnel in line with technological and scientific developments.
A number of new initiatives are currently under study to further strengthen the national training and employment system. Committee members emphasised the importance of integrating efforts between the Ministry of Labour and other government institutions to achieve national objectives in the areas of education and employment.
They also stressed the need to strengthen coordination in implementing career pathway initiatives and to activate the recent Royal directives aimed at supporting programmes and pathways for employing jobseekers in the private sector.
These initiatives, they affirmed, are a key pillar in building a knowledge-based economy and developing Omani human capital.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Committee approved its Work Plan for the Third Annual Sitting (2025–2026) of the Tenth Term (2023–2027), which outlines the topics the Committee will address during the upcoming period within its legislative competencies as stipulated by the Law of the Council of Oman, in addition to a number of follow-up tools.
