According to the recent “Top Industries in the Middle East and North Africa” survey, conducted by Bayt.com, the number one career site in the Middle East, and YouGov, a pioneer in online market research, banking/finance emerged as the industry which is the most attractive to women (38%) in Oman. Government/civil service/utilities (30%) and human resources (27%) were also popular among women.
Government as a Favorable Employer
According to the poll,58% of Oman respondents view the government as a favorable employer, with37% perceiving the government as “extremely favorable” and only6% viewing it as “extremely unfavorable”.
Industry Satisfaction
Close to a third of the respondents in Oman are satisfied with their current/most recent salary packages (32%), inclusive of non-monetary benefits,6% of which claim to be “completely satisfied”. However, more than one in five of those surveyed are “completely dissatisfied” with their current/most recent salary package (23%).
Overall,36% of the respondents in Oman are satisfied with their career growth, while13% are “neither dissatisfied, nor satisfied” and30% are “completely dissatisfied”. In terms of maintaining a work life balance, more than half of the respondents in Oman are satisfied (58%), with almost one in five (18%) being “completely satisfied”. Just13% of those surveyed are/were “completely dissatisfied”.
Almost half of the respondents in Oman are/were satisfied with their work culture (46%),61% with their working hours and53% with their job security. In fact,31% of respondents are/were “somewhat satisfied” with their work culture, while15% are/were “completely satisfied”. Close to a third (30%) of respondents are/were “completely satisfied” with their working hours, while a mere13% are/were “completely dissatisfied” and17% claim to be “completely dissatisfied” with the job security offered by their industry.
In terms of training and development,12% of Oman respondents claim to be “completely satisfied” and24% “somewhat satisfied” with the programs available to them. However,47% of respective respondents are “somewhat or completely dissatisfied” with the training and development programs in their companies.
Most Stressful Industries and Industries With the Longest Working Hours
Construction emerged as the most stressful industry for34% of Oman respondents. Oil, gas and petrochemicals/energy, hospitality/entertainment/ tourism and manufacturing/engineering were also perceived as stressful sectors by27%,16% and16% of respondents respectively. On the other hand, internet/e-commerce, agriculture and charity/volunteer work were observed to be the most stressful industries only by1%,3% and4% of respective respondents.
Construction also tops the list for the longest working hours for more than a third of Oman respondents (38%), followed by oil, gas and petrochemicals/energy (28%).
Seeking Employment
The most popular industry for respondents who are currently seeking employment, across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), is IT/electronics/telecommunications (9%). Conversely, the least popular industries for job seekers are real estate, charity/volunteering work, management consulting and agriculture (all at1%).
According to respondents, industries with a propensity for hiring fresh graduates include government/civil service/utilities (28%), banking/finance (25%) and military/defence/police/security services (22%).
Switching Industries
Another major finding of the survey is that only27% of MENA respondents have changed their industry in the last two years. This was certainly the case in Oman, where70% of respondents have not changed their industry in the last24 months. For those who have changed industry across the MENA region, better salaries (37%), better opportunities for career growth (32%) and lack of recognition (30%) are the top three reasons for their change.
Close to half of those surveyed in Oman are considering an industry change in the next few months (49%), while just under one third (32%) of the respondents “don’t know/can’t say”. For61% of the MENA respondents who consider an industry change, a higher salary is the top reason, while39% consider enhanced career growth opportunities as an important reason for changing industries.
Suhail Masri, Suhail Masri, VP of Employer Solutions at Bayt.com, said: “It’s a very good sign that46% of respondents in Oman are satisfied with their work culture. Over the years, more and more companies are becoming aware of the importance of that, and branding their work culture in order to attract and retain amazing talent. At Bayt.com, we have been helping the top employers brand their companies as top places to work for years now, and we encourage organizations to have a professional online profile for their companies. We are also well-versed in meeting the very specific human resource requirements across these industries. Our annual Top Industries in the MENA report empowers us to understand the opinions of professionals in the Middle East and North Africa regarding their own industry and various other industry sectors in the region, delivering vital statistics that make a difference for employers, employees and recruiters alike.”
“More and more people across the Middle East and North Africa are looking at a variety of industries as the top employment options,” said Elissavet Vraka, Research Manager, YouGov. “In Oman, the most popular industries in terms of perception are not the same as the most popular industries where respondents are keen to find employment.”
Data for the Bayt.com ‘Top Industries in the Middle East and North Africa’ survey was conducted between November22 and December8,2015 with respondents from the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.