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Muscat: The large population of teenagers in the Gulf Coordination Council region is a big problem as they are neither properly trained nor equipped to enter the employment market, especially in the private sector, reckoned a top UN official.
"Here in Oman over 40 per cent of the population is the age of 15 and under, while in some other [the Gulf Coordination Council] GCC countries the percentage is over 60 per cent," Dr Nora N. Alnahedh, Resident Representative (for GCC region) of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), told Gulf News on Sunday.
She said that the GCC population was unique with a large number of foreign workers. "The population of nationals is smaller compared to the expatriate workforce but there are a large number of youngsters getting ready to enter the employment market," Dr Nora said.
"They will come into the workforce soon and we are worried about that," said the UN population official.
She says that the fears of these large numbers of nationals not adjusting to demands of working conditions in the private sector emanates from the fact the youngsters were not equipped to meet the demands of job market.
Competitive market
"These youngsters need to be trained well and equipped to respond to the demands when they join their country's workforce," she believed. In her opinion the young GCC nationals were not 'equipped' to work in the private sector.
Dr Nora said that the problem of unemployment in the region was not due to non-availability of jobs but ill-equipped youth to enter a highly competitive market.
"The youngsters here must realise that they need to work hard to make a place for themselves in the global community," she advised.
The top UN official also worried about the wide exposure the young GCC nationals get from the vast foreign workforce in the country. "They are exposed to so many cultures and habits in their own country."
She urged young GCC nationals to educate and train themselves well so that they can cope with the demands of the highly competitive job market.
Dr Nora also talked about the need to adopt birth spacing programmes.
"Oman has gone a long way in propagating the need to keep a gap between pregnancies," she said. However, she feels that not all the other GCC countries are doing enough to spread the message that not keeping enough space between two pregnancies could harm health.
"Qatar and Bahrain have now responded to a joint UN programme on the issue," she said.
Oman, along with the World Health Organisation, has been advocating spacing pregnancies since 1994.
"It has shown positive results with infant mortality rate coming down drastically," Dr Nora said.
Have your say
How will this affect the demographic balance in the region? Do you think governments should act quickly before it results in other more serious social problems? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com or fill in the form below to send your comments.
Your comments
The birth spacing programs that Dr. Nora talked about should be implemented more throughout the other Gulf regions. I don't believe that the people (and especially the youth since they are the most vulnerable group) are equipped with the necessary services on reproductive health.
Amal
Muscat,Oman
Posted: August 13, 2007, 12:03
The GCC governments should make a move that makes it easier for the GCC nationals to enter the working market by making it less competitive, for example, forcing the companies to have a limited percentage of the employees to be nationals from that country. The nationals are the country's children and the countries depend on its people, unlike the expats who will leave this country in time of hardships.
Muhammed
Dubai,UAE
Posted: August 13, 2007, 12:02
Having worked in the GCC for more than 10 years, I found the main reason nationals had trouble performing in private companies was a lack of motivation/poor attitude. I found that many (subcontinent) expatriates worked harder and were more willing to develop than most nationals, who often had unrealistically high expectations and demands.
So skills are one factor, but equally important is that attitude and motivation needs to be developed.
Saskia
The Hague,Netherlands
Posted: August 13, 2007, 11:00
I agree with this news. Now it is time for young GCC nationals to continue studying overseas, especially at an American or European university, to improve their knowledge and experience for beating the expatriate workers in the UAE.
Gigi
Dubai,UAE
Posted: August 13, 2007, 10:46
It is a great problem which must be solved. There is simply not enough political will (or money, in some GCC countries) to have all of the local population working only in the private sector. However, as a teacher myself, I know that the public school systems here are not providing adequate training to allow locals to compete with expats for competitive jobs. It's not a case of expats "encroaching" on opportunities, but of governments not investing enough in the education of their populations and lack of clear and rigid standards in the public school system. Until this is solved, locals will not be able to compete.
Scott
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: August 13, 2007, 10:42
GCC nationals are educating themselves and I believe in the future many young Arabs will be working in the private sector. However there are still many who are not interested to work as they born with a golden spoon!
S.K.
Dubai,UAE
Posted: August 13, 2007, 09:43
Governments should enforce the young nationals to go through tough programmes where their progress is monitored very carefully and they are granted with access to govt. institutions and scholarships based on their performance. Students treated equally means no competition, and hence no motivation.
Adnan
Dubai,UAE
Posted: August 13, 2007, 09:17
To claim that the young GCC nationals are not equipped to work in the private sector is preposterous and ludicrous. Before making such unfounded claims, provide them the same opportunities that have been encroached upon by expatriates.
I wonder if this comment will be published...
Ahmad
Dubai,UAE
Posted: August 13, 2007, 07:55
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