Oman is undergoing a national transformation. The country’s Vision 2040 is a strategic plan to build a competitive and diversified economy. This means a shift away from traditional industries toward new sectors that are driven by technology and innovation. For this vision to succeed, Omani businesses must change how they think about their workforce. They need to move from a reactive approach to a proactive one, where they anticipate future skills needs and create a plan to meet them.
This article explores strategic workforce planning in the context of Oman’s Vision 2040. It outlines what businesses can do to get ahead of this change, what skills are in demand, and how this new approach to talent can help a company grow and succeed in Oman’s new economy.
The Mandate for Planning
Oman Vision 2040 is a clear signal that the country is changing. The government has created national priorities that align with this vision, including a focus on a knowledge-based economy and a competitive labor market. The Ministry of Labour is tasked with regulating the labor market and developing national talent in line with these priorities.
A conference in Salalah reinforced this idea, with senior officials and industry leaders calling for smarter workforce strategies that respond to a fast-changing technological landscape. The key takeaway was that businesses must align their strategies with the national vision to achieve success.
For businesses, this means that waiting to see what happens is not an option. Strategic workforce planning is a process that helps a company:
- Reduce Risk: By anticipating future skills needs, a company can reduce the risk of talent shortages and high employee turnover.
- Align with Goals: Workforce planning helps align a company’s talent strategy with its business goals. This ensures that a company has the right people with the right skills to achieve its strategic objectives.
- Stay Agile: A well-designed workforce plan helps a company be more agile and prepared for change. This is crucial in a market that is evolving quickly due to technology and national policy changes.
A Framework for Strategic Workforce Planning
Strategic workforce planning is a continuous process that involves a few key steps. It is a collaborative effort between HR, leaders, and other business units to ensure that a company’s talent strategy is aligned with the needs of the entire organization.
- Understand Business Goals
The first step in any workforce plan is to have a clear understanding of a company’s strategic goals.
- Look at the National Vision: Businesses in Oman should look at the national priorities of Vision 2040 to understand which sectors are growing and where opportunities are emerging. For example, the government is investing in sectors like tourism, green energy, and logistics. This provides a clear signal for where businesses should focus their efforts.
- Align with Company Strategy: Once a company knows where the market is going, it can align its business strategy to these trends. This helps a company define its own goals and determine what skills it will need to achieve them. A consultancy firm offers a framework that helps organizations of all sizes align their objectives with Oman’s Vision 2040.
- Assess the Current Workforce
Once a company has a clear set of goals, it needs to assess its current workforce to understand the skills it currently possesses and the skills it needs to develop.
- Conduct a Skill Gap Analysis: A skill gap analysis helps a company assess the competencies of its current employees and identify where it has a gap. This is a critical step because Oman has a shortage of skilled IT professionals in areas like cybersecurity, AI, and cloud computing.
- Use People Analytics: People analytics is the use of data to make decisions about a company’s workforce. It can help a company track employee skills, performance, and career paths, which provides a clear picture of its current capabilities.
- Plan for the Future
The final step is to create a plan that addresses the skill gaps and prepares the workforce for the future.
- Reskilling and Upskilling: Investing in your current employees is often more cost-effective than hiring new ones. A conference in Salalah reinforced the need for organizations to align continuous learning programs with digital transformation and AI integration. The “Makeen” initiative is a government-backed program that aims to train 10,000 young Omanis in digital skills by 2025. It provides professional certificates and micro-certifications, with an employment rate of over 60% among graduates.
- Strategic Talent Acquisition: For a company to attract the right talent, it needs a specific talent acquisition strategy. A company must look at both local and global talent pools to find the right people with the right skills. The Ministry of Labor also focuses on creating a framework for career planning and administrative development in both the public and private sectors.
- Succession Planning: A formal succession plan ensures leadership continuity. It is a strategic tool that helps a company identify and prepare employees for critical roles, which helps with retention and provides a clear path for advancement. HR leaders in Oman are using talent segmentation to identify high-potential national talent for leadership roles.
Oman’s Vision 2040 is a call to action for every business in the country. The push for a diversified, knowledge-based economy requires a workforce that is skilled, adaptable, and ready for change.1 Strategic workforce planning is the tool that can help companies align their talent strategy with these national goals.
For businesses, this means moving away from a traditional, reactive approach to HR and toward a data-driven, strategic one. It means investing in employees, creating opportunities for professional growth, and being intentional about who you hire and how you keep them. For individuals, the message is clear: acquiring new skills, embracing continuous learning, and aligning your career path with national priorities is a direct path to success in Oman’s new economy.
