Oman to set up national e-employment system

Oman's Ministry of Manpower plans to establish an e-employment system to help citizens find jobs suited to their educational and vocational qualifications. The move, announced by Manpower Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Bakri on Sunday, is the latest in a series of initiatives launched by the government to help bridge a mismatch in labour market requirements, on the one hand, and job-seekers, on the other, with skill-sets that attract hardly any demand. The project, dubbed the National e-Employment System, will be developed in coordination with the Information Technology Authority (ITA), as well as the country's main census organisation. According to Al Bakri, the system will be designed to provide Omani job-seekers with data on available openings that suit their educational qualification and professional skills, if any. Unemployed nationals can also register online at the ministry's website and gain access to a database with a listing of public and private sector vacancies that match their skill-sets. In addition to helping Omanis find employment, the National e-Employment System will also be tailored to provide advice to job-seekers on the kind of vocational training they require to augment their professional skills. Private training Training opportunities will be offered either by the ministry through its network of vocational schools and colleges or by private training providers with government funding support. The new e-employment system will be set up at the premises of the Census Authority in the Airport Heights area of Muscat. It will help build on the government's recent success in creating 50,000 openings for unemployed Omanis as mandated by the country's ruler, Sultan Qaboos, in the wake of unprecedented protests held in key cities earlier this year.