What is Omanisation?

Omanisation is a policy introduced by the Omani government in 1988 with the goal to replace foreign workers with trained Omani nationals. Certain quotas of Omani to foreign employees’ ratios have been set in Oman for several industries and companies which reach the mandated goals are provided with a ‘green card’ which will give them special opportunities in any government related project.

What are the Omanisation quotas?

While many Government offices in the Sultanate have achieved 100 percent Omanisation, there is a set percentage quota across six areas of the private sector as follows:

• Banking & Finance – 60%
• Industrial Sector – 35%
• Hotels and Restaurants – 30%
• Wholesale and Retail Sector – 20%
• Contracting – 15%

Oman Free Zones offer a lower Omanisation rate among their incentives – from 10% to 15% in the first 10 years of operation, although there are restrictions on Omani Freezone companies working within Mainland Oman. Reported by Oman’s National Centre for Statistics and Information, the private sector has employed 5% more Omani nationals as of May 2019 than the previous year.

Why was Omanisation Implemented?

To strengthen the national foothold within businesses in Oman, the Ministry of Manpower has introduced a visa ban on expat workers in the private sector for specific job roles, approximately 100 job titles, including; sales, marketing, IT, accounting, finance, management roles, human resources, insurance, media, airport relations and engineering.

To boost Omani workforce skills, Oman has introduced training programs to prepare Omani nationals to take on employment within numerous sectors. Furthermore, large-scale businesses such as Omantel and Shell have implemented training courses within their organisations to ensure that each Omani worker is trained in-depth for the roles. This initiative allows for Oman to build a strong and experienced workforce which gives Omani nationals the opportunity to showcase their skillsets which may have previously been overlooked.

The establishment of the National Centre for Employment (NEC) in Oman was announced in March 2019. The centre– which will come into effect on 1st January 2020 – will open branches in various parts of the Sultanate to put forward qualified Omani job hunters to the Ministry of Manpower for numerous positions, the Ministry of Manpower approves requests for labour permits to fill positions.

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