Muscat – For Oman’s government employees, moving up the career ladder will no longer depend largely on how long they have occupied a grade. A new promotion system is putting performance, competence and specialised skills at the centre of career progression, backed by RO10mn in government funding for 2026.

The Ministry of Labour (MoL) announced the system on Monday for Omani employees in units of the State’s Administrative Apparatus, introducing three promotion pathways designed to accommodate different career circumstances.

The fast track rewards exceptional performance, the flexible track selects employees competitively, while the special track is designed to retain critical talent and attract or reward rare expertise.

The ministry said the RO10mn allocation will be distributed among eligible government units according to their share of employees meeting promotion requirements, with larger pools of eligible employees receiving proportionately larger allocations.

Under the fast track, an employee must have spent at least three years in the grade immediately preceding the target grade and secured three ‘Excellent’ performance ratings under the Ejada system.

The flexible track is more competitive – employees are ranked out of 100 points, with up to 75 points based on job performance and 25 points on individual competence. Employees must have at least three years in the preceding grade and three performance reports rated no lower than ‘Good’.

The system also introduces controls on competence scoring to prevent supervisors from awarding identical high marks to all candidates.

The special track gives government units a mechanism to retain employees with rare or highly specialised skills that are difficult to replace. Promotions under this route are discretionary and cannot exceed 1% of the budget allocated for promotions.

Abdullah bin Muhanna Al Kharousi, Director General of Administrative Audit and Follow-up at the ministry, said the pathways were designed to make promotion decisions clearer and more structured.

Each government unit will establish a promotions committee of at least three members. The committee will verify eligibility, examine nominations and supporting documents, and submit recommendations to the head of the unit.

Promotion decisions will be issued twice a year, taking effect on January 2 and July 2.

The system also sets out restrictions. Employees with a final ‘Weak’ performance rating cannot be promoted. Promotions are also restricted during certain periods of suspension, disciplinary or criminal proceedings, with specified waiting periods following some penalties.

By shifting the focus from seniority alone to performance, competence and organisational need, the ministry said the system is intended to give employees a clearer understanding of what is required to progress while ensuring promotions remain within approved budgets.