Research is increasingly acknowledging the pivotal role of national human resource development (NHRD) in economic development. There is a growing call to conduct research in country-specific contexts to further explore this concept and the factors that influence its outcomes. The concept differs from one country to another; therefore, many HRD studies focus on one country. However, few have focused on the Middle East region, and there has been even less research on Oman. The aim here is to fill this research gap by analysing Oman’s HRD practices. Specifically, the intent is to identify the gap in skillsets in Oman and to develop an NHRD model that is appropriate for the country’s economic requirements for national skills development. A mixed methods approach comprising both quantitative and qualitative techniques was adopted to underpin the study. Therefore, triangulation of the data was completed to evaluate information gathered from across the Duqm Special Economic Zone (DSEZ) in Oman. The study utilised both primary and secondary data. The primary data was collected using quantitative and qualitative methods, and the secondary data comprised HRD case studies from select countries. The data collection instruments included an audit of the skills base of companies located in the DSEZ, two questionnaires and an interview inventory. All instruments were custom-designed to suit the specific purpose of the study and the research settings and were also pilot-tested before being implemented in the study. Purposive sampling was used to identify people who have sufficient knowledge and experience pertaining to HRD practice, namely human resource (HR) practitioners, Omani employees of the companies operating in the DSEZ and HRD policymakers in Oman. Secondary data in the form of HRD case studies for the relevant countries was used to increase the robustness of the proposed NHRD model for the country. The study results revealed some gaps that require government intervention. The findings indicated a lack of available data on the current skills and those that will be required in the future and poor coordination among various HRD government agencies. The research also revealed that education and training efforts do not align with the skills needed by the country’s economic sector and that some nationals are unable to work in certain jobs for socio-cultural reasons. These results were carefully considered to propose an NHRD model for Oman that involves all major stakeholders. The developed model is believed to be the first of its kind for Oman in terms of its comprehensiveness and pragmatic approach. The results of the study can potentially be used by other Gulf region countries to improve the effectiveness of their NHRD efforts. This research is useful for academicians, as it partially fills the gap that exists in terms of HRD studies conducted in Arab countries. It is hoped that aspects of the study can be extended in future with more resources and time so as to ensure the development of a comprehensive HRD policy for Oman.

Research is increasingly acknowledging the pivotal role of national human resource development (NHRD) in economic development. There is a growing call to conduct research in country-specific contexts to further explore this concept and the factors that influence its outcomes. The concept differs ...