Qatar’s Nationalization of Jobs Strategy Aims to Enhance Private Sector and Foster Skilled Workforce.

DOHA: The Ministry of Labour has unveiled its comprehensive strategy to nationalize jobs and enhance the skills of the workforce, aiming to significantly impact Qatar's private and mixed sectors. In a recent discussion panel, Sheikha Najwa bint Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Assistant Undersecretary for Expatriate Labour Affairs, highlighted the Third National Development Strategy's goals to shift towards a more skilled and productive labour market. According to Qatar News Agency, The strategy includes initiatives to increase the proportion of highly skilled expatriate workers to 24 percent, thereby boosting productivity. Efforts will focus on reforming recruitment policies to attract skilled workers, issuing more visas for high-skilled expatriates, and introducing new visa categories for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and elite talent. Sheikha Najwa emphasized that these changes aim to create a more efficient workforce and improve the work environment's ability to attract and retain skilled workers. Sheikha Najwa also revealed plans to update recruitment policies, launch the "Mustaqel" program for new visa types, and streamline procedures for obtaining visas and employment, particularly in priority sectors. These initiatives include removing work no-objection permits and establishing welcome centers to assist expatriates, all designed to facilitate job mobility and improve the overall work environment. In her remarks, Shaikha bint Abdulrahman Al Badi, Assistant Undersecretary for National Manpower Affairs, stressed the importance of increasing the national workforce's presence in the private and mixed sectors to 20 percent by 2030, up from the current 17 percent. To achieve this, the Ministry of Labour is offering incentives and launching large-scale skill development programs in collaboration with the private sector and leading national entities. Shaikha bint Abdulrahman Al Badi also discussed the creation of programs for knowledge transfer and enhancing higher education's appeal to Qataris. These initiatives aim to ali gn education outcomes with labour market needs and provide flexibility for students to explore new economic sectors. She underscored the necessity of partnerships with government and private entities to overcome challenges in qualifying the national workforce. Furthermore, the Ministry of Labour has initiated partnerships with private sector entities to enhance the skills of the national workforce, resulting in a positive impact. Key projects include a regional program to develop workforce skills in priority sectors and initiatives to align educational tracks with labour market demands. In conclusion, Shaikha bint Abdulrahman Al Badi highlighted the Ministry's involvement in the new government scholarship plan, collaborating with private sector institutions to ensure students are trained in specializations that meet market needs. This comprehensive strategy reflects Qatar's commitment to fostering a skilled and efficient workforce to meet its national development goals.