FEATURE: ANALYTICS
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Rob Amor, Senior Vice
President – Global
Channels at Concentra
Analytics, discusses
how companies in the
Gulf states can prepare
for and plan upskilling
programmes for local
workers to meet new
regulations.
E
conomic migrants first arrived
in the Gulf in large numbers
during the 1970s to fill highly
skilled roles opening up in the
growing oil and gas industries.
Today, there are more than 30 million expats
living in the region, with the UAE having the
largest community representing more than
80% of the population.
EMPLOYERS SAY THAT
SKILLS GAPS ARE STILL A
MAJOR IMPEDIMENT TO
BUSINESS GROWTH.
Significantly, migrants make up an even
larger proportion of the workforce. In Saudi
Arabia, for example, foreign workers occupy
nine out of every 10 positions in the private
sector, while in the UAE nationals represent
just 8% of the workforce. This number is
expected to drop further to 6% in 2020.
In recent years, governments have begun
to take action to curb the ripple effects of
supporting an expat community. Saudi
Arabia was the first to introduce a quota
system for foreign workers back in 2015.
More recently, it has introduced a policy
that requires companies with a majority of
expats in their workforce to pay a fine of
SAR2,400 (about US$640) a year for every
foreign worker above the number of local
workers employed.
Such legislation is beginning to weigh heavily
on businesses in the region and is set to
become more commonplace. Little wonder
then that companies are preoccupied with
upskilling their local workforce, but this is
easier said than done.
The socio-economic impact
of migrant workers a cause
for concern
Governments are legitimately concerned
about the balance between local and
foreign workers for several reasons. The
sheer number of expats places a strain
on essential services and infrastructure.
Kuwait in particular, sees this as damaging.
There’s also a correlation between foreign
workers and rising unemployment in
The upskill
imperative:
empowering local workers
in the Middle East
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