Department of Statistics and Information

The Department of Statistics and Information is working on studies to follow up the graduates’ pathways and monitor the labor market need for qualified graduates. It publishes reports that can help planners, decision makers and policy makers of higher education to achieve their duties, with available data and recommendations. The department also provides data on higher education sector for various government authorities, research and studies centers and other concerned bodies inside Oman and abroad.
The department is also considered as a support unit in the implementation of other projects related to higher education studies, surveys and indicators in the MoHERI. The department staff, in addition, provide their support by carrying out data analysis and reviewing studies and reports prepared by other staff in the MoHERI.

Graduate Survey

Graduate survey is a follow up process conducted by the Ministry of Higher Education to obtain systematic and reliable data on graduate employment, knowledge, skills and competencies required by the labor market.

The importance of Graduate Survey crystallizes in the comprehensiveness and nature of the data it provides, as well as, the fact that it is an annual national survey that invites graduates of all public and private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the Sultanate of Oman. It also invites Omani graduates of international universities.

Targeted Graduates

The survey invites graduates of a specific calendar year (s) who studied in local HEIs and graduates of international universities, and it invites graduates holders of different levels of qualifications (i.e. Diplomas, Bachelors, Masters, PhD).

Objectives

1. Providing information about the employability of graduates in terms of duration, specialization, salary, and methods of employment …etc.

1. Evaluating the compatibility between knowledge, skills, and competences attained in HEI and those required by their workplace.

1. Providing feedback to HEIs in term of improving academic programs, employability of their graduates, competencies required in the labor market and overall understanding of the transition period between study and work.
2. Providing guidelines to graduates/students/parents on the employability of graduates according to their fields of study and approximate range of salaries.

Stakeholders 

The data yielded by Graduate Surveys is of great importance to a broad spectrum of stakeholders; the followings represent some of those stakeholders:

1. Graduates: It provides them with information on the employability of graduates, best methods to get a job, required skills/competencies in the labor market.
2. Prospective Students/Parents: It provides them with information on fields of study and qualifications required by the labor market, and approximate length of the transition period and range of salaries for each field and/or qualification.
3. Higher Education Institutions: It provides them with feedback on the employability of their graduates, evaluation of the running programs and required skills in labor market.
4. Policy-makers: It provides indicators that may assist in strategically planning and enhancing higher education to meet labor market needs.
5. Employers: It provides indicators of the number of graduates, job seekers, level of competences attained and required training to plan their recruitment strategy.

Graduate Survey Focus

The focus of Graduate Survey is threefold:

1. Higher Education: this section requests graduates’ views on the quality of teaching and learning at HEIs.
2. Transition Period from Study to Work: this section identifies implemented techniques to seek employment including methods of job search; length of the transition period; mobility between temporary positions.
3. Employment and work: this section covers a wide range of topics related to various aspects of employment and work to assess the compatibility between the skills/competencies obtained in higher education and those required in workplace. 

Employer Survey

Employer Survey is a period process of monitoring and identifying labor market needs of graduates. It surveys employers’ evaluations of graduates’ skills and performance in workplace. It provides feedback to Higher Education Institutions on graduate Employability, skills they lack and type of training they undergo after being employed.

What are the Objectives of Employers Survey?

• Providing indicators of the private sector needs of the graduate in terms of their qualifications and specializations and skills.
• Understanding the methods used in recruiting and selecting graduates.
• Finding out the capabilities and skills that employers focus on when hiring graduates.
• Pinpointing the main skills that graduates lack to perform well in the labor market as evaluated by the employers.
• Identifying the difficulties employers face in searching for suitable graduates as future recruits in terms of their qualifications/specializations/skills.

What type of information Employer Survey request?

This survey seeks to get the following data:

• General Information: about the institution (Classification, nature of activity, number of employees).
• Graduate Recruitment: includes questions on the recruitment plans (number/specializations of requited graduates, starting salary, skills that graduates should have).
• Graduate Recruitment Practices: procedures followed to announce vacancies and look for graduates, criteria used to select future recruits).
• Graduate Retention includes the causes that lead to job-retention.
• Training

Who are the targeted employer?

The survey invite CEOs or HR managers in the private sector to participate. The target sample will be contacted via phone calls, sms and E-mails to participate in the online questionnaire.

Other Systems and Studies

The Department is also involved in other studies and systems such as Higher Education Institutions KPIs and the excellence in performance in government institutions.