Setting the Standard

Setting the Standard

Qatar recently implemented new standard specifications for quality assurance. What do these mean for small and medium manufacturers in Qatar?

As world oil prices have been tumbling, the spotlight on gas-rich Qatar is on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly the ones engaged in manufacturing, as they alone can help diversify the country's economy in an effective way and generate enough jobs. Manufacturing activities outside of Qatar's vibrant oil and gas industry are not many and, thus, have a low share in the country's economy. So the focus currently is on encouraging SMEs, especially those involved in manufacturing.

Late in October 2014, the government's claim of providing incentives to the SMEs in the manufacturing sector was disputed by a caller on popular Qatar Radio programme, Good Morning, My Beloved Country. The caller who gave his name as Abu Ahmed told the programme that industrial SMEs were battling a number of challenges and many of them were facing difficulties in recruiting professionals and technicians from countries of their choice.

"This is seriously impeding our work," Abu Ahmed who did not give his full name, told the radio programme. Citing an example, he said if he wanted 10 engineers from a particular country the immigration authorities would allow him only one. As factory owners, Abu Ahmed said they, and not the immigration authorities, knew their manpower needs.

More than a month after the programme was aired, the Prime Minister H.E. Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani, on 3 December, 2014, at a meeting with businessmen, raised this issue and said that companies' requests for professional workers from countries of their choice were being considered favourably. He, though, said businessmen should appreciate that Qatar has bilateral labour agreements with several countries and not with just a few. In other words, the PM said diverse sources of hiring professional workers should be used. Incidentally, the Qatar Chamber, representative body of the private sector, is now represented on the recruitment committee at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs by one of its directors to make sure companies' work visa requests are considered favourably.

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