HR PRACTICES AND THEIR EFFECTIVENESS DURING THE POST-OMANIZATION PHASE: A CRITICAL REVIEW

Omanization is a strategy applied by the Sultanate of Oman since 1988 with an aim to replace expatriate workers with Omani nationals. The Omani government has set goals to increase the percentage of employed Omani nationals compared with foreigners (expatriates) through Omanization as a routine Human Resource (HR) practice. This strategy was introduced because of the increasing number of expatriates that indirectly resulted in reduced job opportunities for Omani nationals. It is expected that this strategy would allow Omani nationals to get jobs and consequently needed training and development programs. This research work is focusing on Omanization and its likely impact on HR practices in Oman. As it was not feasible to collect data from both the public and private sectors, this research, therefore, aims to analyze the perceptions of private sector employees on Omanization. This research is expected to highlight likely changes in the HR practices applied and their effectiveness in Oman. It will be worthwhile identifying how employees from the private sector foresee this strategy, and whether the Omanization initiative can actually improve the quality of work and enhance HR output to reach a higher level of productivity. It is assumed that Omanization could have a significant impact on HR practices, so it was decided to conduct interviews and focus group discussions with some of the private sector employees to gain a richer insight. Findings from this research indicate that there is a gap between the labor market and the education system. It is evident that fresh graduates lack the necessary skills and training for taking over the positions. Furthermore, there is a lack of training and development programs for the employees. This research is highlighting some recommendations too for the progress toward Omanization.