An analytical study of Job Advertisements in the Sultanate of Oman and Employers’ Demands for Skills in Graduates Ibra College of Technology Sultanate of Oman Azzah Al Maskari, Ph.D Salim Al Rashdi; Manishankar Chakraborty, Ph.D

Purpose of the Study What are the transferable/soft skills and technical skills the employers are looking for in recruiting based on job advertisement

Source TypeTotalITEngineeringBusiness Newspapers 32.7%13.9%36.5%42.1% Portals 67.3%86.1%63.5%57.9% Total Transferable SkillsTechnical Skills Source TypeMNMM Newspaper 11.2%88.8%66.5%33.5% Portals 73.9%26.1%98.8%1.2% Total 53.8%46.2%88.2%11.8%

Qualification TotalBusinessITEng Bachelor72%76%83%63% Diploma22%17%14%32% Diploma/Bachelor3%2% 5% Higher Diploma/Bachelor2%4%1%0 Higher Diploma11%00 Not mentioned (NM) Total

Years of ExperienceFrequencyPercent 041% % 5 – % % Not mentioned (NM)8417%

Transferable skillsMentioned 1Communication & presentation65.5% 2Interpersonal skills29.0% 3Team work23.0% 4Analytical &Problem solving16.4% 5Leadership14.5% 6ICT14.5% 7Initiative10.4% 8Persuasion & negotiation10.4% 9Business acumen9.6% 10Organization skills9.0%

Transferable skillsMentioned 11Time management8.5% 12customer-oriented6.8% 13Work Independently4.9% 14Multitasking4.9% 15Attention to detail3.8% 16Follow-up skills2.5% 17Decision making2.5% 18Flexibility2.5%

Transferable skillsDip 1Communication & presentation78.5% 2 ICT26.6% 3 Interpersonal skills20.3% 4 Initiative13.9% 5 Team work10.1% 6 customer-oriented7.6% 7 Time management7.6% 8 Persuasion & negotiation5.1% 9Work Independently5.1% 10Analytical & Problem solving3.8% BSc 73.5% 13.9% 37.2% 11.7% 31.4% 8.5% 10.3% 13.9% 6.7% 23.8%

Transferable skillsDip 11Leadership2.5% 12attention to detail2.5% 13Organization skills1.3% 14Business acumen1.3% 15multitasking1.3% 16Flexibility0.0% 17follow up skills0.0% 18decision making0.0% BSc 20.6% 5.8% 13.5% 15.2% 7.6% 3.6%

Qualification: DiplomaEng 1 Communication & presentation 85.4% 2ICT41.5% 3Interpersonal skills29.3% 4Initiative14.6% 5Team work14.6% 6customer-oriented9.8% 7Work Independently9.8% 8Persuasion & negotiation7.3% 9Time management4.9% Bus 81.0% 19.0% 4.8% 19.0% 9.5% 0.0% 4.8% 9.5% IT 58.8% 0.0% 17.6% 5.9% 0.0% 11.8%

Qualification: DiplomaEng 10 Analytical & Problem solving4.9% 11 attention to detail4.9% 12 Leadership2.4% 13 Organization skills2.4% 14 multitasking2.4% 15 Business acumen0.0% 16 Flexibility0.0% 17 follow up skills0.0% 18 decision making0.0% Bus 4.8% 0.0% IT 0.0% 5.9% 0.0% 5.9% 0.0%

Qualification: BachelorEng 1 Communication & presentation 64.6% 2 ICT31.6% 3 Interpersonal skills30.4% 4 Team work24.1% 5 Leadership19.0% 6 Initiative15.2% 7 Time management12.7% 8 Organization skills11.4% Bus 72.8% 6.5% 43.5% 33.7% 25.0% 6.5% 4.3% 13.0% IT 80.7% 0.0% 33.3% 35.1% 14.0% 15.8%

Qualification: BachelorEng 9 Work Independently10.1% 10 Analytical & Problem solving10.1% 11 customer-oriented7.6% 12 Persuasion and negotiation7.6% 13 Business acumen7.6% 14 decision making5.1% 15 Flexibility3.8% 16 attention to detail2.5% 17 multitasking2.5% 18 follow up skills0.0% Bus 1.1% 25.0% 2.2% 18.5% 9.8% 0.0% 5.4% 7.6% 13.0% 2.2% IT 10.5% 38.6% 19.3% 14.0% 33.3% 7.0% 0.0% 7.0% 5.3% 10.5%

Database skills are needed more than other hard core IT skills Followed by web technologies, Programming, IT hardware and Server Management, Networking, Business/management, security, with other skills Technical skills: IT job ads (122)

Oracle & SQL server are the two common Database Management Systems; Windows and Unix are the commonly used operating systems; Java the most programming language in demand;.Net being the most common Web technology development tools. High demand for project management related skills

Technical skills: Business job ads (159) Human Resources and Administration, talent management, and office management are the most needed skills in Human Resources and Administration job ads; Sales, marketing and computer skills are the required skills for marketing specialization; followed by financial analysis and reporting; Accounting and administration, reconciliation and internal audit were in demand for the Accounting and Finance professionals.

High demand for construction management, project management, commissioning and maintenance, and international codes and standards. Auto CAD and Primevera are the widely used software in Engineering Quality control and health & safety are very curial in any working environment especially in the sectors employing engineering professionals. Technical skills: Engineering job ads (211)

Conclusion Communication, interpersonal skills, spirit of teamwork, analytical and problem analytical top the transferable skills list In order to ingrain these traits into the graduates These skills must be incorporated within the teaching and learning activities

Conclusion Therefore, the HEI need to evaluate whether they are able to produce students/graduates with those kinds of employability skills required by employers and to reflect the job demand and changing economic environment.

Conclusion The preference of certain skill sets varies from one specialization to another and having a one size fits all approach while developing the curriculum for higher education would serve only limited purpose.