Vocational education for industrialisation: The case of Oman in a regional perspective

As part of its 2040 Development Strategy, the Sultanate of Oman aims at industrial diversification. This shall allow the country to overcome its dependence on petroleum exports and to create employment for its fast-growing population. The development of a sustainable system of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) plays a key role for the advancement of an industrial sector that is currently locked into a low skill-low productivity vicious circle. Despite important socio-economic disparities, there are also substantial similarities in the social and cultural patterns of skills development in the countries of the Arab World. The case of Oman might therefore offer valuable insights in a regional perspective.