The Small and Medium Enterprise owners unanimously described the decision of the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) to link the renewal of work permits for 2,907 professions to the educational level, starting from 2022 ‘a fatal blow’ to their projects, no less dangerous than the repercussions of Covid-19 pandemic.
They said the decision issued in the case of the 60-year-old workforce (non-graduates), especially since it links many simple professions with diplomas and bachelor’s degrees, threatens to shut some projects.
“Linking occupational description to the educational level” is a new challenge to development, and a crisis that Kuwaiti projects and institutions will face, says Al-Jarida quoting SMEs owners.
The decision, includes a new table, integrated with the unified Gulf guide, includes 912 professions that require an average educational qualification, 719 professions less than “primary”, 689 for a diploma, as well as 587 professions that require a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.
The projects owners and sector officials call these conditions impossible, especially as it requires scientific degrees for specializations for which no educational institutions are available in Kuwait in addition to the fact it is an ‘illogical classification’ given the mechanism for selecting the educational level of some professions, such as restaurant supervisor, company representative, and perfumery workers, as it obliges them to obtain a ‘diploma’.
Commenting on the decision, the head of the Kuwaiti Federation of Restaurants, Cafes and Catering Fahd Al-Arbash said 97% of restaurant workers do not have diplomas, but rather acquired their skills with long work experience, stressing that the implementation of this decision means a closure of a big number of restaurants in Kuwait.
While the head of the Kuwaiti Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises Abdulaziz Al-Mubarak stated the decision is similar to the decision to deport 60-year-old workers, in a series of unplanned successive steps that have slowly but surely ‘killed’ many projects saying the implementation needs a minimum period of 4 years to adjust employment conditions.