The Private Sector and Kuwaiti Competencies: Together Towards (Kuwait 2035)

A dynamic private sector that drives the wheel of economic growth, alongside the public sector, to achieve sustainable development and engage qualified Kuwaiti personnel in various stages of implementation and operation represents a key pillar of the national development plan (New Kuwait 2035).

These pillars, concerned with advanced infrastructure to improve citizens' quality of life through comprehensive development, form the cornerstone of Kuwait's comprehensive strategic transformation. The importance lies in the fact that it is not limited to expanding the airport and developing ports and bridges only, but extends to providing an attractive investment environment that encourages the effective participation of the private sector in implementing and financing projects, which helps alleviate the burden on the state's general budget.

This stems from an awareness of the importance of enabling the private sector to play a pivotal role in diversifying income sources, creating quality job opportunities for Kuwaitis, and enhancing the competitiveness of the national economy at the regional and international levels.

In this context, Kuwaitization (Tawkweet) is a key mechanism to ensure the integration of national competencies into the private labor market, achieving a balance between market requirements and national development goals.

The Director of Public Relations and Media at the Public Authority for Manpower, Muhammad Al-Muzaini, told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on Wednesday that there are a number of qualitative and quantitative objectives to increase the percentage of Kuwaitis in the private sector within the 2035 plan. These include enacting legislation to raise Kuwaitization rates in the private sector, such as the decision on national workforce percentages, with stricter penalties for violating these ratios.

Al-Muzaini added that the objectives also include restricting certain job titles and professions to national labor, preparing and implementing specialized training programs to qualify national cadres, and raising the fees for importing expatriate labor in specializations where national cadres are available.

He explained that there are several challenges facing the Kuwaitization policy in non-governmental sectors, including some companies' need for rare specializations or those not available locally, such as insurance, investment, and hospitality professions, as well as the difference in working hours between the two sectors, which reinforces the tendency towards the government sector where working hours are shorter.

He mentioned that among the challenges are also the job security provided by the government sector compared to the private sector, and the benefits granted, such as sick leave, maternity leave, and leave to accompany a patient, in addition to high rates of job attrition for national labor during the first three years of employment, and some companies resorting to nominally employing national labor to meet the legal percentage without actual productivity.

He pointed to a shortage of technical and vocational educational outputs, with most graduates concentrated in administrative specializations, as well as graduates' reluctance to work in the industrial and technical sectors for social and cultural reasons.

Regarding the wage scale between the public and private sectors and modifying labor support policies, he mentioned that the Public Authority for Manpower has submitted a draft decree amending Article 63 of Labor Law No. 6 of 2010 to set the minimum wage every five years at most, based on inflation rates and in consultation with the relevant authorities.

Al-Muzaini added that the Authority has also submitted a study to the Council of Ministers aimed at encouraging work in the private sector and increasing the amounts of support for the national workforce.

In this regard, he referred to the important role played by vocational education and training institutions in supplying the market with national competencies and highlighting opportunities and advantages in the private sector.

He stressed the necessity of modifying curricula, intensifying school and university activities, organizing media campaigns and awareness lectures, and requiring students to undergo field training in private sector companies before graduation to refine their skills and encourage them to work there.

He revealed that the Authority has submitted a proposal to the Council of Ministers including granting incentive benefits to the private sector to encourage it to create job opportunities for national labor. The Authority has also designated the Labor Relations Department, concerned with resolving labor disputes, ensuring the rights of workers and employers, and protecting Kuwaiti employees in the private sector from arbitrary dismissal.

For his part, a member of the Board of Directors of the Direct Investment Promotion Authority, Muhannad Al-San’, spoke to KUNA about the pivotal and dynamic role played by the private sector in supporting the economy, stressing that the sector has played a central role since the 1960s in establishing a strong base that supports commercial activity in the state.

Al-San’ said that the sustainability of cash flow and operational growth have had a significant impact on the strength of this sector, which has proven its worth in facing global financial crises.

He explained that the banking sector, financial services, and brokerage have contributed to providing financing alternatives and investment products, ensuring the safety of the monetary movement, and have played a leading role in developing investments.

He indicated that the regulation and oversight of this sector by government financial institutions such as the Central Bank and the Capital Markets Authority enhanced confidence and contributed to upgrading the Kuwait Stock Exchange to the status of emerging markets and attracting foreign investments.

He added that the commercial, investment, and entertainment real estate sector plays an important role in urban development and making Kuwait a tourist destination for GCC citizens. He stressed that the industry, services, communications, medical, and educational sectors play complementary roles in providing the main needs of the state and consumers.

He affirmed that the current and next generation of Kuwaiti youth are capable of managing the private sector and keeping pace with economic and technological development, which prepares them to lead this sector to be a fundamental player and a main driver of Kuwait's development plan, qualified to contribute to its projects, create jobs, Kuwaitize them, and reduce the salary item in the state's general budget.

As for the economic expert and former advisor to the Minister of Finance, Muhammad Ramadan, he explained that the salary structure and the disparity between the public and private sectors are no longer the main reason for citizens' orientation towards the government sector as in the past, but rather the job security provided by this sector, where about 80 percent of Kuwaitis work.

He added that to achieve balance, it is necessary to limit the jobs available to citizens in the private sector, regulate its salary scale, and link the fees for importing expatriate labor to the number of foreign employees, making the employment of Kuwaitis a better economic choice for companies.

He indicated that these fees collected by the state could be redirected to train and qualify the national workforce to be more efficient and less costly for companies, thus expanding their employment opportunities in various fields.

He stressed the importance of studying the labor market and providing suitable training programs at reasonable prices that companies could sponsor for their national employees to achieve a dual benefit for the employee and the company.

He predicted that the Kuwaitization of the private sector would have a limited impact if not implemented in a studied manner, but if applied well, it would not negatively affect the sector's productivity, emphasizing the need to implement practical procedures and programs to increase the Kuwaitization rate in the private sector.