If I was an educated Qatari, I could see why I might like Qatarization. It would offer me the pick of plum jobs within Qatar, and every firm would be eager to snap up a Qatari with a brain.
However, it does nothing for the economy or for societal wellbeing to force companies to employ people who are under-qualified to the point of being illiterate. It reduces the nation's competitiveness and removes a major stimulus for nationals to do well at school.
Norman Tebbit once said that UK workers should "get on their bikes" if they wanted jobs. There seems to be a good argument that for a real knowledge-based economy, you need to give the workforce a reason for gaining an education. That might mean unemployment, but maybe that's not a bad thing if it spurs people to improve themselves.
If I was an educated Qatari, I could see why I might like Qatarization. It would offer me the pick of plum jobs within Qatar, and every firm would be eager to snap up a Qatari with a brain.
However, it does nothing for the economy or for societal wellbeing to force companies to employ people who are under-qualified to the point of being illiterate. It reduces the nation's competitiveness and removes a major stimulus for nationals to do well at school.
Norman Tebbit once said that UK workers should "get on their bikes" if they wanted jobs. There seems to be a good argument that for a real knowledge-based economy, you need to give the workforce a reason for gaining an education. That might mean unemployment, but maybe that's not a bad thing if it spurs people to improve themselves.