DOHA: The Ministry of Labour has organised a discussion panel on the sidelines of the launch of the National Strategy for an Effective and Highly Productive Workforce 2024–2030. The panel featured Minister of Labour HE Dr Ali bin Samikh Al Marri; Assistant Undersecretary for Migrant Labour Affairs Sheikha Najwa bint Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Assistant Undersecretary for National Manpower Affairs in the private sectorShaikha bint Abdulrahman Al Badi.
Dr Al Marri opened the discussion by stating that advancing a highly productive workforce in Qatar requires the establishment of effective mechanisms to enhance the work environment across public, private, and shared sectors. He stressed the importance of collaboration among all relevant entities, which will play a crucial role in the successful implementation of the national strategy and the attainment of its intended outcomes.
Dr Al Marri explained that several stakeholders are collaborating with the Ministry of Labour to execute the strategy, including the Civil Service and Government Development Bureau, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, as well as institutions in the private and shared sectors. All these parties play a crucial role in increasing the effective participation of the national workforce in the economy.
Components of the strategy
He highlighted the main components of the strategy and its comprehensive approach to the labour sector, stating, “Today, we have launched a comprehensive national strategy for the labour sector in Qatar, collaborating with various entities to collectively achieve these national objectives by 2030.”
In explaining the components of the strategy for an effective and highly productive workforce, he noted that the strategy takes a holistic view of the workforce across government entities and private and shared sector institutions. Numerous initiatives and projects are aimed at ensuring increased productivity and sustainable employment in the public sector, while other initiatives specifically target raising the participation rate of the national workforce to 57.6%, compared to approximately 54.2% in 2021.
He also pointed out another important focus: improving skills and experiences within the work environment. The implementation of several initiatives aims to increase the percentage of skilled workers from 37% to 46% of the total workforce in the country.
Localisation Law
The Minister of Labour indicated that the Localisation Law in the private sector is one of the key laws that will play a pivotal role in achieving the goals of the national strategy for an effective and highly productive workforce. The law aims to enhance the effective participation of the national workforce in private sector institutions and companies while creating job opportunities for Qataris and children of Qatari mothers, thereby increasing the utilisation of qualified national talents.
He clarified that the objective of the Localisation Law is to support the private sector, not to impose challenges on private companies. He noted that the government stands by and supports the private sector, which is why various incentives, privileges, and facilities are available to assist companies in attracting nationals.
In this context, he mentioned that a series of initiatives will be implemented under the law, the most notable of which includes providing financial incentives to eligible Qataris and children of Qatari mothers, along with granting numerous benefits, facilities, and privileges to those included in the localisation plan from the entities subject to this law, as well as employing, training, and qualifying Qatari job seekers according to the policies, plans, and programmes set by the ministry.
Compliance with the law
Dr Al Marri highlighted that in the framework of the Ministry of Labour's implementation of the law and achieving its desired goals, there are numerous obligations for the entities subject to the law, including the necessity to inform the ministry of all available jobs, the criteria required for candidates, the specified salary, and data on those employed in accordance with the provisions of the Localisation Law in the private sector, as well as information on all Qatari and non-Qatari workers, along with any other data requested by the relevant administration.
Penalties for violating Localisation Law
Dr Al Marri affirmed during the discussion that the Localisation Law in the private sector, like other laws enacted by the state, has commitments that necessitate compliance from those in charge of the entities subject to the law.
Naturally, there must be deterrent measures for anyone violating the provisions of the law. He added that the law establishes several graduated deterrent measures based on the type of violation, as outlined in Article 11 of the law to deter violators from fulfilling the obligations specified in the law. There are also stricter penalties in Article 12 of the law pertaining to fraud and unlawful exploitation of the law's benefits.
The Minister of Labour explained that there are two types of penalties and sanctions in the event of a violation of the Localisation Law. The first type includes penalties and deterrent measures for entities that do not comply with the ministry's decisions to achieve the law's objectives, which begins with a written warning, followed by a three-month suspension of the entity's transactions with the ministry, and then imposing a financial penalty, requiring the violator to rectify the reasons for non-compliance within three months.
He added that the second type encompasses stricter penalties, including imprisonment for up to three years and a fine of one million riyals, or one of these penalties, which applies to those who use fraudulent methods or provide false information to unlawfully obtain benefits, privileges, incentives, or advantages established by the law.
Dr Al Marri concluded his remarks during the discussion panel, held on the sidelines of the launch of the National Strategy for an Effective and Highly Productive Workforce 2024–2030, by emphasising that the Localisation Law was introduced to support the private sector, with penalties of imprisonment for up to three years and a fine of one million riyals, or either of these penalties, applicable to individuals or entities using fraudulent methods to unlawfully obtain benefits, privileges, incentives, or advantages.
More productive labour market
For her part, Sheikha Najwa bint Abdulrahman Al Thani, Assistant Undersecretary for Migrant Labour Affairs, stated during the discussion panel that the Third National Development Strategy aims for a radical transformation towards a more productive labour market, focusing on jobs that require high skills. Since expatriate workers are part of the workforce in Qatar, there are initiatives and projects aimed at reaching 24% of highly skilled expatriate labour, which will contribute to raising productivity.
Reforming recruitment policies
She noted that to achieve the targeted percentages, recruitment policies will be reformed to enhance their capacity to attract high skills, transitioning to a skills-based system, increasing the issuance of visas for highly skilled expatriates, improving their employment procedures, and establishing new types of visas for entrepreneurs, freelancers, students, and top talents.
In discussing the main initiatives related to the expatriate labour sector, Sheikha Najwa bint Abdulrahman Al Thani said that the strategy is based on several effective initiatives, including various projects that will contribute to achieving the national objectives. In the expatriate labour sector, the strategy for an effective and highly productive workforce aims to increase the capacity of the work environment to attract, retain, and maintain skilled labour in the job market.
She revealed that one of these initiatives seeks to update recruitment policies to facilitate access to and retention of talent, including the introduction of new visa categories and simplifying related procedures.
New types of visas
She added that these initiatives will include projects such as accelerating the implementation of the "Mustaql" programme to introduce new visa types for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and top talents, as well as reforming the current work visa system to align it with skill levels, enabling the attraction of expatriates with specific high skills, and simplifying the procedures for obtaining visas, recruitment, and employment, especially for employers in priority sectors (such as removing the requirement for a no-objection certificate to facilitate job mobility and establishing welcome centres to assist expatriates).
Attracting skilled labour
Sheikha Najwa bint Abdulrahman Al Thani concluded her remarks during the discussion panel by stating that efforts will be made to facilitate the introduction of flexible types of employment contracts to attract skilled workers with medium to high skills into the private sector, and to improve working conditions and welfare to create an attractive and productive work environment. This will involve implementing projects related to updating laws and executive regulations to encourage new working methods, particularly those focusing on flexible employment contract models, improving the mechanisms for employee transitions between companies, and reinforcing and applying occupational safety, health, and workers’ rights policies to enhance working conditions.
Incentives for national workforce in private sector
For her part, Shaikha bint Abdulrahman Al Badi, Assistant Undersecretary for National Manpower Affairs, affirmed that the Third National Development Strategy for an Effective and Highly Productive Workforce includes numerous objectives for the private and shared sectors. In terms of the private and shared sectors, we aim for the national workforce to constitute 20% of the total workforce in these sectors, compared to approximately 17% currently.
She explained that various incentives will be provided to achieve these ambitious targets by 2030, including offering rewards and bonuses to companies that employ Qataris and implementing large-scale skill development programmes designed and funded in collaboration with the private sector, including initiatives with leading national entities to enhance the skills of Qatari youth and prepare them for work in targeted key sectors.
These incentives also include establishing a knowledge and experience transfer programme that grants Qatari youth and employees opportunities to explore new economic sectors, and increasing the attractiveness of higher education for Qataris to ensure it meets labour market needs by providing greater flexibility for transitioning between different programmes in higher education and updating the governance model to align educational outputs with labour market needs.
Challenges in qualifying national workforce
Regarding the aspirations and partnerships with various entities to overcome the challenges of qualifying the national workforce and increasing alignment with local market needs, the Assistant Undersecretary for National Manpower Affairs confirmed that there is close cooperation with multiple relevant entities in implementing the strategy and reaching national targets, which requires collaboration and synergy between government and private sectors.
She clarified that the Ministry of Labour has already begun collaborating and partnering with many entities in the private sector to qualify the national workforce, which has had a positive impact on developing the skills of the national workforce.
A pioneering programme in region for workforce qualification
She stated that the strategy includes numerous projects that will be worked on in the coming years, the most important of which is a pioneering programme in the region for developing workforce skills, targeting priority sectors. This will result in executive projects in partnership with relevant entities, including students in schools or universities, as well as job seekers.
Meeting local market needs
In terms of aligning with local market needs, the Assistant Undersecretary for National Manpower Affairs stated that there is indeed a challenge in raising the effective participation rates of the national workforce in the private sector, which is the lack of requirements from companies and institutions for qualified personnel. Therefore, the strategy includes key and essential pillars in partnership with educational institutions in the country, starting with guiding school students towards the most in-demand specialisations, followed by increasing the rates of Qatari graduates in the specialisations required by the job market through various initiatives and programmes.
In conclusion, Shaikha bint Abdulrahman Al Badi, Assistant Undersecretary for National Manpower Affairs, highlighted that one of the key projects we are working on to align the national workforce with local market needs is the ministry's participation in the new government scholarship plan, which includes private sector institutions to send students to the specialisations needed by companies.
