The Employability Skill Sets and Competencies of Graduates in Oman: The Employers’ Perspective

The study attempts to examine the factors that influence the employability skills and competencies of graduates in Oman in general with specific reference to the current period of the COVID 19 pandemic. The data, which is primary in nature, has been collected through a well-defined questionnaire. There are 74 responses representing government, private and quasi-governmental enterprises considered in the study. The samples consist of employers directly or indirectly belonging to the Oil and Gas sector constituting almost 45%, followed by the education sector constituting 15%. An analysis of descriptive statistics, Garrett’s ranking technique, and multiple regression revealed that the size of the firms in terms of the number of employees and their level of education is positively associated. Further, small firms rely more on employees who are foreign-educated graduates than large firms do. Adaptability, computer skills, language skills such as reading and writing in English, planning, organizing, and decision-making skills, and team working skills are the most preferred skill sets required of graduates in the employment market during the period of the COVID 19 pandemic in Oman. Employers consider foreign-educated students more reliable with better skill sets required for employment than local graduates. Smaller firms tend to recruit a greater number of foreign-educated students than large firms do. The study reiterates that employers should offer their employees appropriate training opportunities in the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic crisis that affects the very nature of employment, to enhance their perception about the scope of their roles and responsibilities in the unforeseen working environment and their ability to cope with the business risk. COVID 19 Pandemic, and the period of the aftermath, Employers, Graduate Attributes.

effective system in place for promoting the employability skills at Colleges and Universities is the fundamental reason why graduates fail to find the right job. The study suggests that institutions should offer enough placement opportunities, follow up measures, and internships for students in their final year of study to help them develop employability skills. The research also finds that some academic departments in Universities and Colleges perceive that their success lies in the academic proficiency of the students, which is measured in terms of grades. They are reluctant to focus on the development of soft skills among the students.
A graduate is successful due to many factors, student academic stand is an indicator in measuring student success in the job market. The educational institutions should analyze not only the factors influencing the students' academic performance but also the factors affecting their employability (Blasko et al., 2002;Moreau and Leathwood, 2006;and Smetherham, 2006). Shaharudin (2004) who has examined the employability skills of graduates in Malaysia, has found that even the students who have fared well academically lack the required soft skills. The same was proved by Dickinson in 2000. The study findings indicated that the lack of personal attributes is a common weakness of graduates seeking jobs in the UK. The same is acknowledged by Lawrence (2002) who studied the employability skills of the graduates in America.
The review of literature certainly reveals that the poor performance of graduates in the job market is attributable to two main factors. The first is the lack of a systematic plan of teaching soft skills and evaluating the students' ability to excel in such skills. The second is the employers' contributions towards imparting the necessary skills. Most of the studies reviewed are related to developed countries like the USA, the UK, Malaysia, etc. However, the exposure provided by higher educational institutions in Middle Eastern countries, especially in Oman, is quite different from that by western Universities and Colleges. Therefore, there is a need for such a study in Oman to identify the possible reasons for graduates from Universities and Colleges in Oman faring badly in the job market. There has been no extensive research study performed on the employability skills and competencies of the graduates in Oman. The government of Oman is urging higher educational institutions and employers to concentrate on the employability skills of graduates considering future challenges (Times of Oman, December 26, 2016). Thus, considering the challenging job market conditions owing to the COVID 19 pandemic, the present study is considered inevitable for contributing to the success of the student body in Oman even after their graduation.
Students pursuing business studies in Oman have several specializations such as business administration, accounting, marketing, human resources, organizational behavior, management information systems, aviation and airport, logistics, commercial law, etc., which are offered in both Arabic and English medium. However, when the students go to the employment market, they are expected to possess the basic graduate attributes which include technical and soft skills. The collegiate education in Oman finds students' knowledge and skills in their chosen field of study-the technical competencies-adequate. However, there is no direct mechanism followed by higher educational institutions to consistently measure the personal employability skills possessed by the students at different levels such as freshmen, sophomore, junior and senior levels. Therefore, the present study was undertaken in Oman with an attempt to find solutions to questions such as:  Do the graduates of Oman have different facets of employability skills?  Do the educational institutions build employability skills and the personal competencies required for the graduates?  What types of soft skills are expected by the industry due to the changing business environment? The expected outcome of the research would help educational institutions to formalize an academic system to consistently monitor the personal attributes of the students and ensure that the graduating students possess the necessary attributes when they graduate.

Research Objectives
An earnest endeavor has been made in this study to find solutions to the questions raised above. Accordingly, the following objectives have been framed: a. To analyze the factors attributable to the effectiveness of the Graduates' employability skills and competencies. b. To examine the employers' awareness of the employability skills and competencies of graduates. c. To find out the effectiveness of the employers' contribution to higher educational institutions for imparting employability skills and competencies. d. To provide suggestions and recommendations to both employers and higher educational institutions to fill the gap between the skills and competencies among business students.

Research Methodology
A descriptive research design is adopted for the study to do a fact-finding investigation with relevant data analysis and interpretation. An honest attempt is made in this study to analyze the perceptions of firms recruiting graduates in Oman. Business firms were selected based on the condition that the firms are registered in Oman and had recruited the graduates during the last five years. Primary data was collected from the employees of the firms by distributing a well-designed questionnaire after a pilot study.

Study Context:
The Impact of the COVID 19 pandemic which has challenged the whole world is immensely felt invariably in all sectors of the global economy during 2020 and 2021. Therefore, a need arises for academicians to extend their contributions by undertaking research and openly sharing such research results to combat the COVID 19 illness sustained by the economy. The educational sector which is also under the clutches of COVID 19 has been affected to an extent where the pandemic leads to the near closure of some institutions. UNESCO reports that approximately 825 million students were affected by the COVID 19 due to the closure of educational institutions (https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse). In view of this, the present has been undertaken to contribute to the efforts of defeating the challenges posed by the COVID 19 pandemic in Oman.
When it comes to Oman, the effect of the global shutdown due to the COVID 19 pandemic and the falling oil prices have had a devastating effect on Oman's economy. Though the government of Oman has already initiated measures to diversify the economy away from oil, the effect is immensely felt. The government of Oman is hoping to create a resilient graduate employee groups in Oman to explore innovative ideas such as self-entrepreneurship, the establishment of SMEs, etc., to reach a non-oil-based economy, in the long run, to combat such difficult situations in the future. Thus, the study is undertaken in Oman with the aim of strengthening the skills and competencies of graduate students of higher education, as an alternative movement, for contributing to the efforts of defeating the challenges posed by the COVID 19 pandemic and declining oil prices.

Sample Frame:
The enterprises from the government, private and quasi-government sectors in Oman who recruit graduate students from the population for the study. Simple random sampling technique adopted for the study has helped to reach 74 firms operating in Oman. The study uses a structured questionnaire for collecting data from the Managers/ HD directors who are at the managerial positions and in charge of the recruitment of human resources for their organizations. The questionnaire has been reviewed by academicians and experts in the industry. Based on their recommendations, a few modifications have also been implemented and finalized. Additionally, the questionnaire was also reviewed the research and ethics committee at our college and a few recommendations were offered and they were incorporated in the revised copy of the questionnaire. Furthermore, a pilot study was made to examine the feasibility of collecting the required information from the respondents. For this purpose, the researcher has interacted with select managers of private firms in Muscat. Based on their suggestions, modifications have been made on the language of the questions to make the respondents more comfortable while answering the questions. A pre-test was undertaken to examine the clarity of the questionnaire with 10 respondents.

Ethical considerations:
The questionnaire, after being finalized technically, went through the Ethics Committee at Modern College of Business and Science [MCBS] to obtain the ethical validation. Then, the questionnaire was finalized and adopted for collecting data. The finalized questionnaire was converted into Google forms and sent to various organizations requesting them to complete the form. The study has managed to obtain 74 responses.

Data Analysis:
The statistical tools used to analyze the data include (i) Simple percentage (ii) Garrett's Ranking Technique and (iii) and Multiple Regression.

Findings and Discussion
The data collected through the questionnaire are analyzed using (A) Simple percentage, (B) Garrett's Ranking Technique, (C) Regression analysis and Chi-square analysis. The results are summarized as follows: A. Simple Percentage: The nature of the data collected is analyzed using simple percentage. The results are as follows: (a) The number of employers: Figure 1 reveals that close to 70% of the samples consist of employers who have more than 100 employees and 13.5% less than 10 employees. Therefore, the study is based on a representative sample that confirms the reliability of data which forms a base for generalizing the results to the whole country. The results indicate that close to 31% of the employees who have responded to the questionnaires are from the employers' group comprising more than 100 employees on the payroll, followed by 28.4% of the employees from the firms having employees numbering between 26 and 50 (see Figure 2). This confirms that the study focuses on employers who have employed a relatively significant number of employees. Employers having less than 10 employees seem to hire more even during the period of COVID 19 pandemic, followed by employers with 26 to 50, 51 to 100, and above 100 employees.  Table 1). to the Oil and Gas sector constituting almost 45%, followed by the Education sector with 15 percent. Employers representing the other sectors comprise 40% collectively. The lowest representation is 4.1% from the manufacturing sector, Electricity and water supply, Banking and financial services, Information technology, Automobile and Export, and Import (see table 2). 100.0 (f) Source of data collection from employers: Close to 64% of the source of data is the managers who are currently handling the human resource department of their firms (see table 3). So, the data obtained is highly reliable and one can believe that the opinions of those managers represent exactly what is happening with the human resources management in the employment sector, both governmental and private in the country.  Table 4 illustrates the composition of employees in terms of their educational level. The employers employing between 61 and 70 have a higher number of graduate employees and a lower number of postgraduate employees. Employers with 11-20 employees have more postgraduate employees than graduate employees. There is a direct relationship found between the size of the firm in terms of the number of employees and their level of education (Tansel et al.2013).

h) Skills and competencies--Employers' Priority:
The study reveals that almost 39% of the employers have preferred employees based on Language Skill-Reading and Writing in English, Computer skills, Analytical and problem-solving skills, Planning, organizing and decision-making skills, Team working skills (see table 5). A detailed rank analysis is done with Garrett's Ranking Technique.

(i) Skills and competencies-employers' priority during the period of COVID 19 pandemic:
The study also takes into consideration the priority metrics from the employers' viewpoint. The results reveal that the Adaptability, Computer skills, Language Skill-Reading and Writing in English, Planning, organizing and decision-making skills, and Team working skills are the most preferred skill set required of the employees in the employment market during the period of the COVID 19 pandemic (see table 6).   (7,8,9 and Figure 4)) and Chart explain the training opportunities availed of by the employees during the last 5 years. All the employers have offered training facilities to their employees, based on the nature of their employment and the future endeavors of the business expansions. The average number of training programs is 2 to 5 times a year. One can understand that the employees of small firms have experienced more opportunities for training, compared to those of large firms in Oman.   (k) Implications of foreign-educated employees: Employers constituting 45% from two groups having 5-10 and 21-30 employees have recruited the greatest number of employees with a foreign degree (see table 10 and 11). The employers representing 44% invariably consider that the students who have graduated abroad would have better skills and competencies than local graduates. 19% of the small firms have recruited a greater number of employees with degrees from foreign universities as against large firms with 11 percent of such employees.  Total 74 100 (l) Employers' contribution to academic institutions: 76% of employers offer research assistance to students and educational institutions and internship opportunities to the students. 24% of the employers extend their support to the participation of students in debates or seminars organized by higher education institutions, and personal discussions with study program directors or teachers.  Percentage Position = 100 (R tj -0.5) / N j D. Where R tj =Rank given for i th variable by the j th employers.
E. N j = Number of variables ranked by employers The employers were asked to rank the metrics denoting the skills and competencies of employees that are considered during their recruitment process. With reference to the Garrett Table below (see Table 13), the percent position is converted into scores. Then for each metric, the scores of each employer are added and then the mean value is calculated. The factors having the highest mean value is the most important metric. a. Employers' preference during graduate recruitment: Scale values as per Garrett Ranking Technique for first to eight ranks are 79, 67, 59, 53, 46, 40, 32, and 20 respectively. The percentage position of each rank is made into a score by referring to the factors summed up for assigning the rank. The following table shows the employers' graduate preference during recruitment. From the analysis, it is inferred that most of the employers prefer students who are well-versed in Business Administration followed by Accounting & Finance, Marketing, etc. (b) Factors considered for recruitment during the period of COVID 19 pandemic: Garrett's Ranking Technique has been used to ascertain the factors considered by the employers for recruitment during the period of the COVID 19 pandemic. Under the Garrett's ranking technique, the percentage position is calculated by using the following formula: Percentage Position = 100 (R tj -0.5) / N j Where R tj =Rank given for i th variable by the j th employers. N j = Number of variables ranked by employers The employers are asked to rank the seven variables relating to the skills and competencies metrics considered by employers during the COVID 19 Pandemic period. Scale values as per Garrett ranking technique for first to seven ranks are 78, 65, 57, 50, 42, 34, and 21 respectively. The percentage position of each rank is made into a score by referring to factors summed up for assigning the rank. Table 14 shows the factors considered by the employers for recruitment during the period of the COVID 19 pandemic. The result of Garrett Ranking discloses that anticipated growth in business, cost control, Quality of the employees' service, etc. are the factors considered ISSN 2222-1905(Paper) ISSN 2222-2839(Online) Vol.13, No.4, 2021 47 by the employers during the period of the COVID 19 pandemic. N j = Number of variables ranked by employers The employers are asked to rank the seven questions relating to recruitment based on priority. Scale values as per Garrett ranking technique for first to seven ranks are 78, 65, 57, 50, 42, 34, and 21 respectively. The percentage position of each rank is made into a score by referring to factors summed up for assigning the rank. Table 15 shows the priority considered by employers during recruitment. The result of Garrett Ranking portrays that proactive, enthusiastic fresh graduates, Omanization, work ethics are the priority factors considered by employers during recruitment. (d) Challenges during the recruitment: Under the Garrett's ranking technique, the percentage position is calculated by using the following formula, to ascertain the impact of challenges faced by the employers during recruitment.
Percentage Position = 100 (R tj -0.5) / N j Where R tj =Rank given for i th variable by the j th employers. N j = Number of variables ranked by employers The employers are asked to rank the four questions relating to challenges faced by them during recruitment. Scale values as per Garrett ranking technique for first to four ranks are 72, 56, 43, and 27 respectively. The percentage position of each rank is made into a score by referring to factors summed up for assigning the rank. Table 16 shows the challenges faced by employers during recruitment. The results disclose that a shortage of applicants with the right skills and capabilities in Oman, the inability to notify the vacancies, an ineffective hiring process, and the inability to offer competitive salaries are the problems faced by employers during recruitment.

e) Method of improving employability skills during the period of COVID 19 pandemic and the aftermath:
Garrett's Ranking Technique has been used to ascertain the method by which Colleges and Universities may improve students' employability skills during the period of the COVID 19 pandemic. Under the Garrett's ranking technique, the percentage position is calculated by using the following formula: Percentage Position = 100 (R tj -0.5) / N j Where R tj =Rank given for i th variable by the j th employers. N j = Number of variables ranked by employers The employers are asked to rank the five questions relating to the method by which Colleges and Universities may improve students' employability skills during the period of the COVID 19. Scale values as per Garrett ranking technique for first to five ranks are 75, 60, 50, 39, and 24 respectively. The percentage position of each rank is made into a score by referring to factors summed up for assigning the rank. Table 17 shows the methods by which Colleges and Universities may improve students' employability skills during the period of the COVID 19 pandemic and the aftermath. The test results show that creating awareness among the students on the graduate attributes that they should possess by the time they graduate, making them more self-reliant, providing entrepreneurial skills, etc. are the methods that may be adopted by the Colleges and Universities for improving students' employability skills during the period of the COVID 19 pandemic and the aftermath.  Organizing a greater number of training programs by the organization improves employees' skill sets. In reference to the impact of the model, the value of R 2 is found to be significant at one per cent level. This shows that the regression equation framed is a good fit. Around 18.50% of the variation in employee skill sets is due to the select variables. : 0.428** In reference to the importance towards skills and competencies, table 19 indicated that the category of ownership and importance towards employees' skills and competencies are negatively related. Public/Government-owned organizations give much more importance towards employees' skills and competencies during recruitment than other forms of enterprises do. The percentage of graduate employees and employees' skills and competencies are positively related. Employers attach a significant level of importance to qualified graduate employees. Employers give a high-level of priority to postgraduate employees in the recruitment process. Regarding the impact of the model, the value of R 2 is found to be significant at one per cent level. This shows that the regression equation framed is a good fit. Around 42.80% of the variation in employees' skills and competencies is due to the select variables.

Determinants of employers' satisfaction
The following regression equation is framed to ascertain the impact of the variables on Employers' Satisfaction. ES = a + b 1 NOE + b 2 NOEFY + b 3 CO + b 4 NOB + b 5 PUGE+ b 6 PPGE + b  Table 20, it was highlighted that the percentage of postgraduate employees and employers' satisfaction are positively related. Employers who recruit a greater number of postgraduate students have a high level of satisfaction. Moreover, employees with the required skill sets and employers' satisfaction are positively related. Employers who perceive that their employees possess the required skill sets for carrying out their tasks have a high level of satisfaction. In reference to the impact of the model, the value of R 2 is found to be significant at one per cent level. This shows that the regression equation framed is a good fit. Around 40.80% of the variation in the level of employers' satisfaction is due to the select variables. D. Chi-square Analysis I. Variables associated with employees' skill sets and competencies Chi-square analysis was performed to identify the variables associated with employees' skill sets and competencies, the results are summarized below in different categories: a. Ownership categories: To identify whether there exists any association between ownership categories and employees' skill sets and competencies, the following hypothesis has been framed and tested. Chi-square: 30.349 P-value: .000 Significant Table 21 indicated that the Public/Government sector employers have disagreed that employees recruited during the past five years possess the required skill sets and competencies. However, semi-Government employers have confirmed that their employees recruited during the past five years possess the required skill sets and competencies and private sector employers strongly agree that their employees recruited during the past five years possess the required skill sets and competencies. As the calculated P-value is less than 0.01, which suggests that there exists a highly significant association between ownership categories and employees' skill sets and competencies. Hence, the null hypothesis is rejected. b. Percentage of graduate employees: To find whether there exists any association between the percentage of undergraduate employees and employee's skill sets, the following hypothesis has been framed and tested.

H o : Category of ownership is not associated with employees' skill sets and competencies
H o : percentage of undergraduate employees employed is not associated with employees' skill sets and competencies One can understand from Table 22 that the calculated P-value is less than 0.01 which indicates that there exists a highly significant association between the percentage of graduate employees and their skill sets and competencies. So, the results reject the null hypothesis.   Chi-square: 11.892 P-value: .000 Significant Employees were able to enhance their skills and competencies when their employers offer more training programs for them as highlighted in table 24. Table 24 indicated the calculated P-value which was less than 0.01 and suggested that there exists a highly significant association between the number of training programs organized and employee's skill sets. Hence, the null hypothesis is rejected. II. Chi-square Analysis: Variables associated with employers' importance towards employees' skill sets and competencies a. Category of ownership: To observe if there exists any association between the category of ownership and employers' importance towards employees' skill sets and competencies, the following hypothesis has been framed and tested. Chi-square: 12.891 P-value: .002 Significant From the calculated P-value in table 25, which is less than 0.01, all employers regardless of their ownership structure consider the skills and competencies of their employees as an integral part of the success of their businesses. b. Percentage of graduate employees: The association between the percentage of undergraduate employees recruited and the employers' priority towards skill sets and competencies of the employees is examined by framing the following null hypothesis. H o : Percentage of undergraduate employees is not associated with employers' priority towards employee's skill sets and competencies Table 26 proved that there exists a highly significant association between the percentage of undergraduate employees recruited and the priority attached by the employers towards employees' skill sets and competencies. c. Percentage of postgraduate employees: The following null hypothesis is framed for testing if there exists any association between the percentage of postgraduate employees and the employers' priority towards employees; skill sets and competencies. Table 27 showed that the calculated P-value is less than 0.01, which suggests that there exists a highly significant association between the percentage of postgraduate employees and the employers' priority towards employee's skill sets and competencies.

Limitations of the Study
The data being primary in nature, limitations applicable to primary data are equally applicable to the present study. The sample is confined to the employers located in and around Muscat City alone. Hence due care should be taken before generalizing the results of the study to other areas. The validity of the opinions expressed by the respondents is subject to the inherent bias by the respondents.

Conclusion/Recommendations
The study has considered the opinion of the employers who have had a significant number of employees having both graduate and postgraduate employees for the last five years. One can believe that the results are more reliable and can be generalized with the least value deviation. Almost 50% of the respondents are from the private sector. The sample consists of employers directly or indirectly related to the Oil and Gas sector constituting almost 45%, followed by the Education sector with 15%. There is a direct relationship found between the size of the firm in terms of the number of employees and their level of education. Further, small firms rely more on employees who are foreign-educated graduates than large firms do (Tansel el al., 2013). Training opportunities provided to the employees show a positive correlation between the intensity of training and the size of the firm. Smaller firms provide a greater number of training opportunities than large firms do. The results agree with the findings of Waddoups (2011). The study reveals that there is no significant difference between the size of the firms and their recruitment strategy during the period of the COVID 19 pandemic. As a matter of fact, the COVID 19 pandemic has not significantly affected the recruitment plan of the employers. The study reveals that the employees' skills relating to language, such as reading and writing in English, Computer, Analysis and problem-solving, planning, organizing and decision-making, and Teamwork, are the most preferred skills and competencies for employment.
The study also takes into consideration the priority metrics from the employers' viewpoint, where adaptability, computer skills, language skills such as reading and writing in English, planning, organizing and decision-making skills, and team working skills are the most preferred skill sets required of the employees in the employment market during the period of the COVID 19 pandemic. 44% of employers consider foreign-educated students more reliable than local graduates. Smaller firms tend to recruit a greater number of foreign-educated students than large firms do.
From the analysis of Garrett's Ranking Technique, most of the employers prefer students who are well-versed in business administration followed by accounting & finance, Marketing, etc. Proactive, enthusiastic fresh graduates, Omanization, and work ethics are the priority factors considered by employers during recruitment. It is also disclosed that the anticipated growth in business, cost control, quality of employees' service, etc. are the most influential factors considered for recruiting employees during the period of the COVID 19 pandemic.
There is a shortage of applicants with the right skills, competencies and capabilities in Oman. The inability to notify the vacancies, ineffective hiring process and the inability to offer a competitive salary are the major problems faced by employers during the recruitment process. The study also reveals that creating awareness among the students on the graduate attributes that they should possess by the time they graduate, making the students more self-reliant, providing entrepreneurial skills, etc. are the methods the educational institutions should adopt for improving the students' employability skills during the period of the COVID 19 pandemic and the aftermath. Multiple regression results indicate that the level of educational qualifications of employees positively influence the employability skill sets as expected by the employers.
The higher the level of education the better the scope for the employees to get recruited. The number of training programs organized, and the employees' skill sets are positively related. Organizing a greater number of training programs by the organization improves employees' skill sets. The level of satisfaction of the employers is positively influenced by the level of the employees' education and the training opportunities provided. Higher educational levels result in a greater level of employers' satisfaction. The study reiterates that the employers should offer appropriate training opportunities considering the current COVID 19 pandemic crisis that affects the nature of employment, for their employees to enhance their perception about the scope of their roles and responsibilities in a new working environment and their ability to cope with the business risks.
Chi-square analysis shows that the ownership differential does not affect the priority of the employers towards the skill sets required for their employees. There exists a highly significant association between the percentage of employees -graduate and postgraduate-and their skill sets and competencies. Further, the training opportunities provided to the employees enhance their skills and competencies. Colleges and Universities must invite the local employers and employment agencies to annual forums like industry advisory board meetings, employers meet etc., for understanding the industry expectations on the skills and competencies of the graduates to bridge the gap between what the students learn in their classrooms and what they should possess for being successful in their employment market. Therefore, educational institutions should create awareness among the students on the graduate attributes that they should possess by the time they graduate, make them more self-reliant, provide entrepreneurial skills, etc. These initiatives are adopted by the higher educational institutions, however, the methods adopted by them produce ineffective results in terms of sharpening students' employability skills during the period of the COVID19 pandemic and the aftermath, the study reveals.

Practical Implications of the Study
The Framework of the research provides a basis for strengthening and streamlining the linkages between business firms, educational institutions, and the students in the Sultanate of Oman. Curriculum development is planned and executed considering the demands of the Country. The study adds value to learner-centered education by blending industrial work experience into the teaching and learning process.
The study which considers the expectations of different stakeholders of the higher education sector in Oman provides recommendations to them. By strengthening the nexus between different stakeholders, the study insists that Universities and Colleges should focus on offering value-added programs for improving the skills and competencies of graduates in Oman. The study assists the policymakers to adopt work-integrated-learning for bridging the gap between what graduates know and what is expected of them by the industry. Therefore, the role of educational institutions in students' placement is successfully fulfilled. Employers can recruit graduates who can fulfill their expectations within the resources locally. So, dependence on the foreign workforce can be minimized which supports the national agenda called Omanisation. For the students, the study provides for rationalization of education across the country removing disparities between the educational facilities of urban and rural areas in Oman. That the students understand the expectations of business firms will make them market-ready graduates.