Train citizens for factory jobs: Report

DOHA: As Qatar is trying to diversify and industrialise, it must worry about the high percentage of foreign workers in the industrial sector.

According to a report of the Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting (GOIC), foreigners make up an average of 95 percent of the workforce in the country’s industries.

The organisation’s recently released report, titled “The Features of the Industrial Economy in the GCC”, reviews the current state of industries in the GCC states and their future outlook.

The report says expatriates make up 80-85 percent of the total white/ blue collar workforce in the industrial sector in the Gulf. In the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait, this percentage is around 90-95 percent; in Oman it is 70 percent, followed by 63 percent in Saudi Arabia and 40 percent in Bahrain.

These figures are considered alarmingly high compared to global figures, and call for a serious review of the academic curriculum in the region and intensified attention to industrial, technical and specialised education to match the needs of the industrial sector.

Analysts note that not enough incentives have been given to the industrial sector in the GCC to recruit local workers. Analysts have also criticised the fact that even though there have been many agreements among the GCC countries to open up the labour sector for GCC nationals, their implementation has fallen short of what has been agreed upon.

Reviewing the current workforce, the report says many GCC youth shun blue collar jobs and prefer governmental or administrative work due to the benefits these jobs offer.

The report says that in 1997 there were 6,605 industrial units and factories, and this figure had climbed to 12,310 in 2008. The capital invested in industry had also risen from $77.1bn in 1997 to around $150bn in 2008. The overall workforce in the industrial sector in the GCC also rose from 521,000 to 971,000 during the corresponding period.

By 2010, it is expected that many mega industrial projects will be completed across the GCC, which would result in the industrial sector having a much more tangible effect on the gross domestic product of the

GCC states.

This will be the outcome of the stress placed by governments in the Gulf on having an industrialised economy, due to the solid investment outlook and benefits provided by the industrial sector.

GOIC is a body created by the GCC member states as a knowledge-hub and industrial investment promotion catalyst for the purpose of industrial diversification and development in the GCC countries.
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