Kuwait-Saudi partnership targets skilled workforce and labor-market efficiency
Kuwait is moving to strengthen the screening and verification of workers before they enter the country under a new partnership designed to improve professional standards, raise productivity and enhance the efficiency of the labor market.
The Public Authority for Manpower signed a memorandum of understanding with Saudi-based Takamul Holding to expand cooperation in labour-market development, professional skills accreditation and service improvement, in coordination with the Ministry of Interior.
The memorandum was signed at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Kuwait by Public Authority for Manpower Director General Engineer Rabab Al-Osaimi and Takamul Saudi Arabia CEO Ahmed Al-Yamani, in the presence of Ministry of Interior representatives and officials from both sides.
Al-Osaimi said the agreement follows the directives of First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahd Yousef Saud Al-Sabah to strengthen cooperation and exchange expertise with specialized organizations to improve work systems and services.
She said the memorandum provides a framework for sharing expertise and supporting the authority’s efforts to improve performance and the quality of services offered to workers and employers.
Skills to be tested before recruitment
Al-Osaimi said the most important element of the agreement is the adoption and measurement of workers’ professional skills. Kuwait aims to establish professional standards, define and assess workers’ skills, and use these standards to attract qualified workers and improve labour-market efficiency.
She said testing a worker’s professional ability before recruitment would help employers select the right candidates and could reduce problems such as the trading of residency permits. “If there is a clear and accurate tool to measure the skills each company needs,” Al-Osaimi said, it would have a direct impact on productivity and other aspects of Kuwait’s labor market.
Unified professional guide
Al-Yamani said the partnership would begin with the development of a unified professional guide, on which the Public Authority for Manpower has already made significant progress.
He said linking the professional guide with specific skills would be an important step in developing the labor market, particularly as verifying workers’ skills has become a global challenge.
Under the partnership, Takamul will automate the process of verifying workers’ skills, qualifications and economic value, providing workers and employers with a faster, simpler and less expensive service.
Al-Yamani said the initiative would support Kuwait’s efforts to restructure the labor market by attracting talent, aligning workers’ skills with the unified professional guide and ensuring that skilled workers meet actual market needs.
200 testing centers worldwide
Takamul operates 200 labor testing and examination centers in major labor-exporting countries, Al-Yamani said. In countries where the number of workers is smaller, testing is conducted online.
He said the company has so far conducted more than 1.5 million tests for workers moving to Gulf countries, with operations covering 160 countries through certificate and skills verification.
Boosting productivity and economic growth
Al-Yamani said matching workers’ abilities with the actual requirements of jobs would increase productivity and have a significant economic impact. The system could also help Kuwait identify the skills required by its labor market and determine the training programs and employment opportunities needed by Kuwaiti citizens.
He said professional data collected through the system would, over time, provide valuable information on occupations, required skills and the expatriate workforce filling those positions. This would help develop training programs that prepare Kuwaiti youth for jobs that match market demand.
The system would also help employers recruit workers who are genuinely suited to specific jobs, rather than bringing in workers who lack the required skills.
Skills gaining importance over degrees
Al-Yamani said more than 80 per cent of employers worldwide are now more interested in workers’ skills than their academic degrees. He said verifying professional skills and qualifications would help meet labor-market needs, increase productivity and ensure employers have access to the right competencies.
Al-Osaimi said the Public Authority for Manpower would continue expanding cooperation with specialized institutions and developing partnerships that help it keep pace with changes in the labor market.
She also stressed the authority’s commitment to providing more advanced electronic services. All its services are automated, she said, with efforts continuing to make the experience more flexible and easier for employers and workers.
