Duqm Summer Series: How Keeping Talent Engaged Boosts Business Growth and Investment Opportunities in Oman
SEZAD Advances Workforce Development in Duqm Summer Series
DUQM, August 12 – The Special Economic Zone at Duqm (SEZAD) continued its inaugural Duqm Summer Series on Tuesday with a focused one-hour session dedicated to workforce development—an increasingly critical element of business strategy. In today’s fast-evolving landscape, securing, retaining, and nurturing the right talent is as vital as attracting investment or expanding into new markets.
Organised by Hanan al Siyabi, Section Head of Marketing & Business Development at SEZAD, the session featured Auf al Aufi, Talent Management Section Head at the Development Bank. He emphasized the importance of building resilient teams capable of adapting swiftly, working with clear purpose, and recognizing opportunities within change.
“The most successful organisations recognize that talent is not a static asset but a dynamic, evolving capability,” Al Aufi stated. “Our discussion focused on cultivating leaders comfortable with ambiguity and teams that can maintain focus while adapting quickly. Achieving this requires investing in skills development, fostering the right culture, and implementing systems that enable people to perform at their best.”
The rationale for such investments is compelling. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2024 report reveals that only 21% of employees globally feel actively engaged at work, with disengagement costing the world economy approximately US$8.8 trillion annually—around 9% of global GDP. Additionally, the Society for Human Resource Management estimates that replacing a single employee can cost up to twice their annual salary, accounting for recruitment, training, lost productivity, and cultural impact. With over half of the workforce reportedly seeking new opportunities, retention has emerged as a critical business performance factor rather than a mere HR concern.
Tuesday’s dialogue went beyond traditional HR approaches, examining the complete employee lifecycle—from purposeful onboarding that integrates organisational values, to career pathways emphasizing fairness, inclusion, and wellbeing. Discussions also addressed ways to enhance transparency in development opportunities and how to create workplaces that employees actively choose to remain with, contribute to, and innovate from.
The conversation also linked back to last week’s session on AI and automation, highlighting that as technology reshapes skill demands, effective AI strategies must be paired with robust people strategies—focused on reskilling, lifelong learning, and leadership equipped to navigate transformation.
For Al Siyabi, the connection between talent and competitive advantage is clear. “Duqm is built for the long term,” she remarked. “These sessions equip our tenants with the tools and mindset to develop their workforce with the same dedication they apply to infrastructure projects. Workforce resilience is not just an HR issue; it directly impacts competitiveness.”
The Duqm Summer Series commenced on August 5 with Saeed Abul Ghafoor, CEO of Star Drones, leading a session on AI and automation. The series will continue throughout August with discussions on global supply chains and workplace culture—each a concise, practical one-hour dialogue designed to provide actionable insights.
In an era where talent rivals capital in value, Duqm is positioning itself not only as a logistics and industrial hub but as a centre where organisations invest in their people to shape both their future and the region’s contribution to the global economy.
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The focus on workforce development and talent resilience at SEZAD Duqm signals a strategic shift for Omani businesses, emphasizing that people strategies must evolve alongside technological advancements like AI and automation. For investors and entrepreneurs, this presents a compelling opportunity to build competitive advantage by investing in continuous learning, fair career development, and inclusive workplace cultures—critical factors for attracting and retaining talent in a rapidly changing market.
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