Sheikha Dr. Athba bint Thamer Al Thani
The United Nations classifies Qatar as a country with high human development and it is widely regarded as one of the most advanced Arab states in terms of human development. Qatar is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, ranking first in terms of GDP per capita. However, Qatar's high GDP per capita and rapid economic growth, driven by oil revenues, have undermined the need for skill development among Qatari nationals, resulting in a severe shortage of employable Qatari workers. To fill this void the government was forced to rely on foreign labour.
Other GCC countries, such as the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain, are also experiencing high inflows of foreign workers, prompting these countries to launch their own nationalization initiatives. With similar conditions to that of its sister countries, Qatar launched the "Qatarization" nationalization initiative to change the status quo by reducing its reliance on foreign labour and growing its own labour force.
Qatarization seeds the potential to transform Qatar into a knowledge-based economy by investing in and developing national human capital through a variety of economic incentives and government frameworks that encourage investment in education, learning, innovation, and information technology. The implementation of National Vision 2030 will be a game changer for Qatar and in order to implement the vision, one of the prerequisites is the development of human capital in terms of education, innovation and IT skills.
The main objectives of Qatarization are attracting, developing, motivating, and retaining Qataris resulting in a high-calibre Qatari workforce, and extending valuable career opportunities with a promising future. The development of knowledgeable, skilled, committed and experienced national human resources is the only way to achieve the overall goal of 50% Qatarization in permanent established positions, which has sparked a concerted effort to achieve the same.
Factors that impact Qatarization
The primary factors that impact Qatarization are education and training. To implement Qatarization, it is inevitable to have a well-trained, qualified Qatari workforce that can work in both the public and private sectors. Unfortunately, this is a major source of concern, as the supply of educationally qualified and trained Qatari professionals does not meet the existing and growing demand.
Due to the availability of government jobs, Qataris have numerous options for assuming government positions. They are not required to work in the private sector and are often uninterested in doing so. In addition, perks in government jobs typically outweigh those in the private sector. Job security, pension plans, and other expectations are always measured against those provided by government agencies and corporations. As the majority of private jobs have their own standards, skill levels, and procedures, there is a severe lack of qualified Qatari labour.
The educational programmes selected by the Qatari nationals are grossly disproportional to the requirements of the Qatari labour market. Demanding fields such as computing, science, engineering, manufacturing, construction, health and welfare, and hospitality services necessitate competent personnel. Approximately 23% of the Qatari population are specialized in the aforementioned subjects, which is a far cry from the number of skilled individuals available among the non-Qatari population. It is abundantly clear that there has been a lack of coordination and planning between education (training and development) and labour market demands, leading to a mismatch in the labour supply in terms of the skills and competencies required by the private sector.
The business environment in Qatar is comprised of two parts: public and private. The public sector is leading initiatives for Qatarization, while the absence of large private companies and the inability of existing private companies to meet the expectations of Qatari national workers is hampering the private sector from actively participating in the transformation. The majority of Qatari nationals, both males and females, work for the government, while the majority of non-Qatari males and females work in the private sector. Only 10% of Qataris are employed in the private sector. Working in the public sector provides Qatari nationals with a certain social status and is generally regarded as a birthright. When it comes to employment, however, Qatari nationals have four main concerns: a secure future, working hours, work culture, and growth opportunities.
Qatari nationals are rather latent in the areas of learning, development, education, career development, organisational culture, and performance enhancement. Changes in these areas are only possible if Qatari nationals adopt a new perspective regarding career and employment opportunities. The primary fields of training for Qatari females are administrative (57%) and teaching (22%), whereas the primary fields of training for Qatari males are administrative (49.5%), oil & gas, and security & safety. This must change, and Qataris must explore new streams and career options to ensure a diverse presence in the country's employment demographic; only then will it reflect positively on the achievement of Vision 2030.
Challenges for Qatarization
There are five major challenges for private companies to overcome when implementing Qatarization. They are the high cost of hiring and retaining Qatari nationals, the inability to meet expectations such as job stability, pension plans, and other benefits matching to that of government companies, a scarcity of qualified workers with the necessary expertise, fear of losing control of the business and a lack of competitive productivity of Qataris in comparison to expatriate workers.
The availability of Qataris with the necessary skills and experience is a challenge, as while the proportion of women qualified to work in private companies is high, their overall percentage is less than one-fourth of the male-dominated population. Professionally, there may be times when appropriate skills and competencies are not available among Qataris for a particular job, in such cases, expatriates are hired to fill the position.
Many private companies are compelled to hire Qatari nationals in order to reflect the adoption of Qatarization in their operations. As a result of this, such recruits are retained in the company, but they do not go through a process of learning and skill development, which is a disadvantage for long-term Qatarization.
There is no clear blueprint for Qatarization implementation. It should be a collaborative effort between educational and training institutions, public and private businesses, and the government. The Qatarization initiative is currently being implemented in silos by a few public companies but without a proper strategic plan. On the other hand, the private sector has yet to actively initiate the Qatarization process. There are opportunities for Qatari Nationals to work in the private sector; however, longer working hours in comparison to public sector companies are often a concern for Qatari men considering a job in the private sector, while mixed-gender work cultures and longer working hours are often a barrier for Qatari women considering a job in the private sector.
Key areas that need attention
The majority of Qatari public companies are in the Mining & Quarrying sector. However, a recent trend from 2018 indicates a redistribution of labour from the Mining & Quarrying sector to other sectors with a greater presence of private companies. It should also be noted that there is currently no government support for private companies to facilitate Qatarization and meet the expectations of Qatari nationals.
Another area that requires close attention and intervention is stakeholder perceptions, which have a significant impact on the pace of Qatarization. Qatari nationals, in general, do not prefer to work in private companies for a variety of reasons, including a lack of a secure future/pension, longer working hours, a non-traditional work culture, and uncertainty about future growth prospects. The public sector companies have robust retirement plans and benefits in comparison to private companies that provide a sense of security and thereby lead to better attractiveness and retention.
Despite the fact that Qatarization as a concept has a bright future, the current pace and state of implementation of Qatarization is sluggish and unpromising, owing to a lack of support and coordination among various concerned parties, as well as the current perception status quo at an individual and organizational level. There is a lack of specific information regarding the pace and progress of Qatarization because there is neither a well-written roadmap for the implementation of Qatarization nor key indicators to measure the progress. Even government organisations lack a reliable system for tracking changes before and after the initiative is put into action.
In addition, it is important to note that despite Qatarization being one of the key pillars of Qatar's future, there haven't been any thorough academic studies conducted on understanding the opportunities and challenges associated with it. The strategic approach in this case necessitates identifying the competencies and skills that will contribute to achieving Qatar Vision 2030's goals and fulfilling the needs of the knowledge age. This needs to be applied to jobs that Qataris can perform now and in the future. For Qatari citizens to master the skills, dedicated training programmes are highly necessary.
Chief administration and Business Development Officer at QDVC
