The minister of labour outlines Qatar’s commitment to enhancing Gulf job market and strengthening international cooperation.
Qatar’s minister of labour revealed that the Gulf nation has embarked on a new strategy to support localisation of jobs in the private sector.
Minister Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri detailed in a recent address during the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of Labour of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Oman that the move will be carried out by analysing the needs of the labour market, as well as focusing on required skills and specialisations.
One of the key priorities highlighted by Al Marri is the localisation of jobs within private sector enterprises, with a special emphasis on enhancing the benefit of highly qualified national professionals across GCC nations.
The conference convened ministers from Gulf nations to deliberate on mutual concerns within the manpower sector, with a strong focus on advancing collaborative initiatives, solidifying the employment markets in the Gulf, and nurturing human capital.
The discussions also shed light on elevating national skill sets, knowledge sharing in human resource development, and solidifying bonds between GCC countries and global organisations dedicated to the labour sector.
Al Marri underlined Doha’s support for GCC initiatives aimed at enriching the Gulf’s professional setting. He stressed the significance of broadening and intensifying dialogues and strategic alliances pertaining to the labour industry within the GCC.
He also highlighted the necessity to continually update the Gulf Guide for Occupational Classification and Description while devising joint Gulf action strategies in the labour and manpower domain.
Al Marri stressed the importance of exchanging success stories among GCC countries to enhance policies and regulations governing Gulf labour markets.
Enhancing the labour market
Meanwhile, Qatar approved four new international universities from four different countries, authorities announced, marking a step towards enhancing the local labour market.
The universities are from Malaysia, the United States, Australia, and one other country, and are set to offer programmes in scientific disciplines required in Qatar’s labour market, Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Higher Education Affairs in the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Dr Khalid Al Ali, revealed.
Separately, the Gulf state has also pushed for more transparency amid ongoing criticism over migrant worker rights.
In a bid to better the labour market and environment, Qatar added a feature on the Ministry of Labour’s website that allows the public to view monthly labour statistics.
The introduction of the new platform provides a higher level of transparency and easier access to statistics on a monthly basis, and authorities say it fits into the ministry’s strategy to keep the public informed.
By simply clicking on the ‘monthly statistics’ button on the website’s home page, the user is directed to a visual breakdown of numbers from four departments: the Recruitment Department, the Labour Relation Department, and the Labour Inspection Department.
As for labour relations, users can view the number of complaints workers and domestic workers made against their employer to the ministry. The website shows that July alone recorded a total of 1,060 complaints, 233 of which were resolved and the rest were sent to the committee for review.
