Recent government figures show that Omanis are replacing foreigners in five sectors in the sultanate through an employment policy dubbed "Omanisation".

Among these sectors are banks, oil, telecommunications, insurance, and the hospitality industry, according to a report released by Oman's National Centre for Statistics and Information.

At the end of last year, 95.4% of commercial bank jobs were held by Omanis, compared to 93.7 percent at the end of 2020. The daily newspaper Oman cites a report citing more than 11,000 Omanis working in banks.

The number of Omanis working in oil and gas companies in the country accounted for 88.1%, or more than 17,000 employees, by the end of last year, compared to 85.5 % by the end of 2020.

Around seven years ago, the drop in crude prices led to job losses in the oil and gas industry.

Efforts to replace expatriates with Omani nationals have paid off, limiting the impact on employment opportunities.

The telecoms sector employs 3,764 people, of whom 3,479 are Omanis.

Furthermore, Omanization in the insurance sector reached 81.9% last year, compared to 78.8% in 2020. There are a total of 3,006 insurance workers, including 2,463 Omanis.

The insurance agent activities have been fully omanised.

Around 4,243 Omanis work in the hotel industry out of a total of 11 employees. A vigorous effort was made to increase Omani employment in the hotel sector at the end of last year, resulting in a rise from 33.8% to 36.4% Omanisation in the hotel sector increased from 33.8% to 36.4%.

The number of Omanis working in the tourism sector has fallen to 14,000 from 15,000 before COVID-19 broke out.

Efforts have recently been made by Oman to create jobs for its citizens.

Approximately 33,000 jobs are targeted for Omanis in the public and private sectors as part of the Omani Ministry of Labour's employment and replacement programme this year. According to official figures, 23,000 Omanis have already been employed in the first half of this year, or 66 percent of the overall target for 2022.

The Sultanate of Oman announced last month that expatriates would no longer be allowed to work in 207 professions in the sultanate.