In the private sector, the most prominent contributors to this hiring spree were Qatar Airways, Noor Center, and the Commercial Bank of Qatar.

Qataris have witnessed a staggering 150% surge in private sector appointments during the third quarter of 2023 compared to the preceding quarter.

Some 2,006 Qatari men and women secured positions across the public and private sectors in the Q3 of this year.

“The private sector recruited 534 Qatari citizens including 302 males and 232 females in Q3 of this year,” said Director of the National Manpower Employment Department at the Ministry of Labour Malak Abdullah Al Hajri.

The drastic growth in the private sector’s engagement with the local workforce marks a significant shift from the 213 appointments recorded in Q2 of 2023.

“The growing number of appointment of citizens in private sector reflects the constant efforts made by the Ministry of Labour in coordination with Civil Service and Government Development Bureau (CSGDB) to provide quality job opportunities to citizens and prepare suitable work environment for them,” Al Hajri detailed.

Meanwhile, a staggering 1,315 citizens found placements in the public sector during Q3 of 2023, with an additional 157 appointments stemming from graduates of the Government Scholarship Programme, according to Dhabiya Ahmad Al Buainain, Director of the Nomination and Replacement Department at CSGDB.

In the private sector, the most prominent contributors to the hiring spree were Qatar Airways, Noor Center, and the Commercial Bank of Qatar.

However, it was HSBC, Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), and Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company that presented the highest number of job openings for Qatari citizens in the third quarter.

“The finance and accountancy sector led the appointment of citizens in private sector,” Al Hajri noted.

In Q3, the most sought-after specialisations in the private job market were financial management and accountancy, closely followed by computer engineering and cybersecurity, respectively.

“The specialisation of cyber security witnessed high demand in Q3 which is not a surprise due to fast spreading artificial inelegance , virtual reality and other developing technologies,” Al Hajri added.

Separately, Al Buainain said that teaching, engineering, and IT emerged as the most in-demand specialisations in the public sector during Q3 of 2023.

In the private sector, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Hamad General Hospital, and the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kharamaa) extended the highest number of job offers to citizens during the three-month period.

As part of its ongoing commitment to further the country’s employment sectors, the Ministry of Labour said it has continued to evolve the National Employment Platform, “Kawader,” by integrating artificial intelligence.

In September, 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 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 was the localisation of jobs within private sector enterprises, with a special emphasis on enhancing the benefit of highly qualified national professionals across GCC nations.

Enhancing the labour market

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.