ALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE NEEDS OF THE LABOR MARKET AND THE OUTPUTS OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE SULTANATE OF OMAN THROUGH STRATEGIC PLANNING AS A MEDIATING VARIABLE
The study aimed to reveal the compatibility between the needs of the labor market and the outputs of higher education in the Sultanate of Oman through strategic planning as a mediating variable. The study population consists of the occupants of senior and middle management positions in the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Innovation and educational institutions affiliated to the Ministry in the Sultanate of Oman. As well as graduates of the Colleges of Applied Sciences of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Innovation in the Sultanate of Oman. The study relied on the descriptive approach. The study used the questionnaire as tools for data collection, after ensuring its validity and reliability. Its psychometric properties were also verify by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis using the statistical program (AMOS) and (SPSS), and the study used the Model Structural Equation (SEM) to analyze the results. The study reach several results, the most important of which is the presence of an indirect effect of the variable of strategic planning practice in higher education institutions in the Sultanate of Oman on the variable of adapting their outputs to the needs of the labor market through the harmonization of outputs to the labor market from the point of view of higher education officials, and this result indicates that there is a positive and effective impact. The study also included many recommendations, the most important of which is the need to activate the practical side in universities to provide students with the practical skills necessary for them to engage in the labor market.
Keywords: Labor Market, Education Outcomes, Strategic Planning.