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8/14/2019 RandK12 Feb2008 Qatar Today
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/randk12-feb2008-qatar-today 1/4
48 QatarToday FEBRUARY 2008 FEBRUARY 2008 Qatar
ly inuenced by their parents and re -
ligious beliefs. Lack of a scholarship,
family responsibilities, and the avail-ability of secure, prestigious and wellpaying government jobs may deteryoung people from pursuing post-secondary education. Changing the
education system alone is not likelyto alter the situation. Policies couldcreate new incentives for Qataris tomake different choices, but the studydid not explore those possibilities.
|q|The report states that there has
been no broad strategic review of
post secondary education opportu-
By Vani SaraSwathi
ArePort ppad f hSupm educain Cun-cil has mphasisd h nd
s up cmmuniy cllgs and sp up h qualiy and yp f ps
scnday ducain ha is cunlyavailabl.
th sach dscibd in h -p was ppad f h Supmeducain Cuncil and cnducd
wihin rAND educain and hrAND-Qaa Plicy Insiu, p-gamms f h rAND Cpain.
Qatar Today , in an xclusiv in-viw, spaks h lad auh f h
p D Cahln Sasz, wih in-pu fm D eic eid, D FanciscMall, and D Chals Gldman,all f whm a wih h rANDCpain.
excps f h p wals lasd f h s im,
Qatar Today.
|q|The report mentions that few
Qataris have the training or quali-
cations needed for high demand,
high skill jobs. Is this merely a mat-ter of deciency in the education
system that needs to be set right, or
is it a social conditioning that has to
be changed?
|a| ou p indicas ha i ispaly du dcincis in h sys -m and paly du individualpfncs and chics. th duca-in sysm has many ducain andaining ppuniis in aas la-
d high dmand ccupains, andals sm shfalls (.g., Mas’sdg lvl pgamms) ha h
sudy p ulins. th asnswhy individuals chs paiculaducainal pins pusu pa-icula ccupains a cmplx, and
h pan f chics can vay fmals vsus fmals and ld v-sus yung ppl. ou sudy did
n xamin all h cmplxiis, bui did highligh sm cndiins facs ha may inunc chics,f xampl: yung ppl a high-
Community Colleges:Need of the Hour
Qatar faces signicant barriers to
progress:
Qatar’s K-12 (kindergarten
through grade 12) education
system is weak, which means that
students are poorly prepared for
post-secondary study. The SEC
has embarked on an ambitious
reform of K-12 schooling, one that
holds promise for better preparing
graduates for higher education
and work, but it began in 2001
and will require more time to yield
signicant effects.
Qatar depends on an expatriate
workforce for both low-skilled
labour and high-skilled technicians,
managers, and professionals, es-
pecially for the energy sector. Most
Qataris do not have the trainingor qualications required for many
high-demand, high-skill jobs in
the expanding economy (Planning
Council, 2005).
An implicit social contract guar-
antees Qataris employment in the
government sector, which employs
about 77 percent of all Qataris in
the workforce. Qataris favour work
in government jobs, which provide
them with high salaries and good
benets, short working hours, job
security, and little competition
from expatriates better qualied
than they are (Planning Council,
2002, 2005).
“Qatarisation” policies directed at
increasing Qatari employment in
the energy sector and the private
sector do not always succeed, be -
cause many Qataris are not willing
or lack the needed skills to work
in these sectors (Planning Council,
2005).
Compared with Qatari males,
Qatari females are higher academic
achievers but are less likely to
pursue career employment and are
subject to cultural traditions that
limit their job opportunities.Qatari males tend to be academi-
cally unmotivated but have high
expectations about securing
respectable jobs.
Qatar lacks a mechanism for coor-
dinating workforce development,
including education and training,
to rectify skill shortages and other
imbalances in the labour market
(Planning Council, 2005).
Given these barriers most pres
ing problem for Qatar’s leadersh
is that of determining what kind
of initiatives will best broaden a
strengthen Qatari participation
post-secondary education. Indiv
initiatives already carried out ha
paved the way for establishing a
range of post-secondary educat
opportunities in Qatar, but thes
initiatives have not been subject
to a broad strategic review.
As a result, the extent to whic
available post-secondary educat
offerings meet Qatar’s current a
future economic needs is uncert
The SEC asked the RAND Corp
tion to study the current situatio
and to help develop priorities fo
providing the needed post-secoary offerings, either in Qatar or
nancing the education of Qata
abroad.
The purpose of the RAND stud
was twofold: to provide a basis
upon which to develop a more
strategic approach to post-seco
ary education, and to address th
issues and options in an integra
fashion.
Post secondary education in Qatar
EmployEr DEmaND, StuDENt CHoiCE, aND optioNS For pol
“Mnay cmpnsain was nln f a numb f impan jb
cnsidains f mn... and salaand bns w dmd lss
impan han many hchaacisics by h wmn... hs
a h spndns pinins and mn indica h acins akn.”
|focus| |focus|
A t A G l a n c e
Dr Cathleen Stasz, Lead Author of the RAND report
8/14/2019 RandK12 Feb2008 Qatar Today
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nities. Which are the areas that have
been overlooked or the ones that
need immediate attention?
|a|W idnify h gaps in
h cun pins availabl inQaa and mak h fllwing
cmmndains:esablish a gvnmn-spnsd
cmmuniy cllg ppa su-
dns wh nd addiinal aca-dmic ppaain bf pusuing
ps-scnday sudis and hlpaduls impv gnal skills
ppa acadmically if hy wish pusu fuh ducain.
Pvid addiinal ppuniis
f high-achiving sudns sudy in Qaa, such as a Libal
As Cllg in educain Ciy andan hnus pgamm a Qaa
Univsiy.Add Mas’s dgs in high-d-mand lds bh in educain Ciy
and a Qaa Univsiy.
|q|Which disciplines of study
should these community colleges
offer?
QATARIS should prepare for profes-
sional and technical occupations,most of which require some post-
secondary education or training.
However, employment demands and
patterns of education and employ-
ment are somewhat out of sync,
especially for men. Qataris’ prefer-
ence for working in the government
sectors remains strong.
The study’s key ndings from this
part of the analysis are as follows:
Employment demands for men
will be in professional, techni-cian, and sales and service worker
occupations. The pattern is similar
for women, except that they are
also likely to nd employment in
clerical jobs and in professional
jobs in the government.
Employers express high demand
for skills in certain areas, especially
English, ICT, and business. They
also value the so-called soft skills,
such as a good work attitude and
a willingness to learn.Patterns of employment for the
1998 secondary school graduates
suggest that men are continu-
ing to pursue careers in elds
other than those in demand,
most notably in the military and
police, and that large proportions
of women still enter the teaching
profession. A large proportion of
graduates hold professional jobs,
but whether they are doing so in
sufcient numbers to meet current
and future demands is unclear.
Occupational demand favours
individuals with some post-sec-
ondary education supplemented
by more-specic job training.
Women are more likely to pursue
post-secondary education than
men.
The trend for Qatari women to
pursue and achieve post-second-
ary education in greater num-
bers than Qatari men will likelycontinue given that twice as many
females as males in our 2006
cohort planned to attend univer-
sity or obtain a post-secondary
diploma.
Similarly, the trend for Qataris to
seek work in the government and
government enterprises will also
continue. Males overwhelmingly
name the government as their
main choice of employer, and
most of the working women inour 1998 cohort (many of whom
are teachers) are employed in a
government ministry.
While women are more likely than
men to pursue post-secondary
education, they are still highly
concentrated in such traditional
occupations as teaching. Given
that opportunities for women in
the labour market appear to be
expanding and that young females
aspire to many types of careers,more may need to be done to tap
this important human resource.
Cultural expectations may still
work against women’s employ-
ment, for example, the senior
male and female students in the
2006 cohort had very different
views about women working
outside the home.
Secondary school students’ choic-
es for their future are highly inu-
enced by parents and by religious
beliefs. This suggests that appeals
to parents and religious organiza-
tions (through, for instance, public
relations campaigns) to encourage
their children to pursue higher
education and/or to highlight the
need for professional and techni-
cal workers in Qatar may be one
way to affect parental advice and
students’ choices.
Key Findings
|focus|
A t A G l a n c e
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52 QatarToday FEBRUARY 2008 FEBRUARY 2008 Qatar
A t A G l a n c e
Qaaizain gals unlss Qaaismak diffn chics ( a givnsng incnivs mak diffn
chics).
|q|Since citizens expect, and in
most cases receive, very high sala -
ries and perks (not really in keep-
ing with the qualications) how
will there be acceptance for college
or technical courses, that may not be
high-paying opportunities?
|a|W did n dicly sudy whalabu mak incnivs plicis
migh b ndd aac Qaais diffn ccupains, n did wxamin h lainship bwn
qualicains and wags in Qaa.this qusin suggss ha Qaais
a mainly mivad by nancialgain (which is als h pinin f many mplys and hs in-viwd in h sudy).
ou suvy daa indica ha hisis n ncssaily h cas. Mnaycmpnsain was nly n f a
1998 Cohort Means(RankOrder)a
Characteristic Female Male Ov
M ak es m e f ee l r es pe ct ed a nd a pp re ci at ed 3 .8 2 (1) 3 .7 7 (1) 3 .
Job security 3.68 (2) 3.53 (4) 3.
Opportunities for career advancement 3.32 (6) 3.72 (2) 3.
Opportunity to contribute to society 3.43 (3) 3.53 (5) 3.4
O pp or tu ni ty t o g et m ore t ra in in g 3 .3 9 (5) 3 .5 5 (3) 3 .4
Friendly colleagues 3.43 (4) 3.30 (11) 3.
Allows time to be with family 3.11 (9) 3.37 (9) 3.2
Interesting work 3.18 (8) 3.26 (12) 3.2
Challenging work 3.04 (10) 3.17 (13) 3.
Salary 2.71 (15) 3.43 (7) 3.0
Vacations 3.25 (7) 2.81 (16) 3.0
R et ir em en t b en ef it s 2 .6 2 ( 17 ) 3 .3 7 ( 8) 2 .9
Other benefits 2.64 (16) 3.34 (10) 2.9
Housing benefits 2.48 (18) 3.47 (6) 2.9
Pr estige 2.93 ( 12) 2.85 ( 15) 2.8
N ot e xp ec te d t o w ork l on g h ou rs 2 .9 6 (11 ) 2 .7 4 (17 ) 2 .8
Bonuses 2.82 (14) 2.89 (14) 2.8
W om en -o nl y w ork e nv ir on me nt 2 .8 6 (13 ) 1 .8 4 (18 ) 2 .3
Mixed-gender work environment 1.39 (19) 1.42 (19) 1.4
Sample sizea 28 47
2006 Cohort Mean (Rank Order)b
Characteristic Female Male Ov
Makes me feel respected and appreciated 3.55 (3) 3.56 (4) 3.5
Job security 3.44 (6) 3.42 (6) 3.4
Opportunities for career advancement 3.22 (11) 3.08 (14) 3.1
Op po rt un it y t o c on tr ib ut e t o s oci et y 3 .2 7 ( 9) 3 .2 9 ( 7) 3 .2
Opportunity to get more training 3.22 (12) 3.11 (12) 3.1
Friendly colleagues 3.22 (10) 3.06 (15) 3.1
Allows time to be with family 3.17 (13) 3.22 (11) 3.2
Interesting work 3.54 (4) 3.48 (5) 3.5
Challenging work 3.46 (5) 3.28 (8) 3.
Salary 3.37 (8) 3.70 (2) 3.5
Retirement benefits 2.67 (16) 3.10 (13) 2.8
Other benefits (e.g., housing) 2.75 (15) 3.24 (9) 2.9
Prestige 3.58 (2) 3.76 (1) 3.6
Not expected to work long hours 3.37 (7) 2.72 (17) 3.0
Bonuses 2.96 (14) 3.24 (10) 3.0
Women-only work environment 2.59 (17) 2.59 (18) 2.5
Health benefits 2.57 (18) 2.84 (16) 2.7
Mixed-gender work environment 3.71 (1) 3.67 (3) 3.6
Sample sizeb 151 103 2
a. rspndns ad ach chaacisic as fllws: 1, n impan; 2, smwha impan; 3, vy im4, xmly impan; 0, dn’ knw. Scs w calculad as mans af dpping all dn’ knspnss.
b. Vais slighly acss qusins.
THE data from the study provide
two important perspectives on
patterns of education and employ-
ment that of young people who
graduated from secondary school
in 1998, and that of 18-year-old
secondary school seniors set to
graduate in 2006. The data from
the 1998 group illuminate the
transition from secondary school
to higher education and work; the2006 group’s data reveal seniors’
education and employment
aspirations.
The adjoining tables on the
right show the Importance of Job
Characteristics to Choice of Job or
Career for the two groups.
Patterns oF
education and
emPloyment
|focus| |focus|
A t A G l a n c e|a|this wuld dpnd n h mis-
sin f h cmmuniy cllg andis lainship h Qaai duca-in sysm and wuld qui fu-h sudy. In hy, i culd ffcuss in english ICt yungppl and aduls (pvidd his dmand f hm) and i culd f -f ppaay ducain ainingin high dmand lds.
|q| Do you think community col-
leges would be received well?
|a|ou sudy did n dicly ad-dss his issu. Hwv i is uimpssin ha a cmmuniy cllgmigh b viwd as lacking in ps -ig cmpad Qaa Univsiy,making hs i culd bn, hsi-an nl bcaus h is a sigmaaachd anding a cmmuniy
cllg. A fasibiliy sudy n h d -mand f a cmmuniy cllg mighaddss his qusin.
|q|Given the misalignment of
qualication with demand – how
will the country’s nationalisation
(Qatarization) goals be met?
|a|I will b difcul m sm
ONE common strategy for raising
employer satisfaction and increas-
ing the likelihood that graduates
will be prepared for work is to
forge formal relationships between
education institutions and employ-
ers. These can take different forms,such as employer representation on
advisory boards, input into curricu-
lum development, and sponsorship
of interns or work schemes...
Whether they are satised with
graduates’ skills or not, nearly all
organizations in our study have
invested in formal and informal
training, and this training has been
quite extensive in several cases.
For example, at Qatar Petroleum,
a graduate of Qatar University’sengineering programme can expect
to receive up to six more years
of structured training and work
experience before becoming fully
qualied.
By and large, the employers we
interviewed were not satised with
the quality of skills possessed by Qa-
tari secondary school and university
graduates. Most employers viewed
Qatari graduates’ English skills as
poor, and about half complained
about poor communication skills.
Poor technical skills were also
frequently mentioned.
Employers noted that Qatari
graduates had poor work attitudes
as well, and some specically men-
tioned lack of loyalty or commitmentto the company. Loyalty was particu-
larly an issue for employers that had
invested in employee training and
then had the employees leave for or-
ganizations offering better pay and
benets. It was also an issue for em-
ployers working toward Qatarization
targets, since any Qatari leaving the
organization would be a setback.
At least one organization, however,
claimed that employees who left for
better positions were not a problem
– it saw itself as contributing to the
skills of the country’s citizens no
matter where those citizens worked.
ACCORDING to the employers, the
work attitudes of Qataris and non-
Qataris differ. Employers mentioned
that Qatari employees exhibited an
unwillingness to work in shifts (es-
pecially on evening shifts) or outside
Doha, as well as lack of enthusiasm
or motivation for the job.
In addition, Qataris expected to be
given a management or supervisoryposition regardless of their experi-
ence or qualications.
One interviewee noted that Qatari
men were sometimes unwilling to
work for female supervisors. And
two noted that Qataris tended
toward shyness, which sometimes
made them reluctant to work in jobs
dealing with the public.
SOME “soft” skills, such as loyalty to
an employer or being motivated at
work, may be individual character-
istics or behaviours that are difcult
to change through an educational
intervention.
Most Qataris work in the govern-
ment sector, where current employ-
ment policies provide good benets,
job security, and no performance-
based rewards or penalties. In these
circumstances, there is little reason
for employees to work hard, show
initiative, or even take their work
seriously.
As noted in the previous section,some employers we interviewed
complained that lack of motivation
or enthusiasm is endemic among
Qataris, particularly among Qatari
men.
Changes in employment policies
and practices may be needed if the
motivational and attitudinal
problems that concern many em-
ployers and ultimately affect produc-
tivity and performance are to be
mitigated.
soFt sKills
emPloyer rePresentation on
advisory Boards
A t A G l a n c e
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54 Qatar Today FEBRUARY 2008
A t A G l a n c e
A
t A G l a n c e
numb f impan jb cnsid-
ains f mn in h 1998 ch, and
salay and bns w dmd lss
impan han many h chaac-
isics by h wmn. In h 2006
ch, issus lik salay, psig,
and mnay bns w als n
as impan as h chaacisics,
bu signicanly m impan f
mn han wmn.
Hwv as slf pd daa
hs a h spndns pinins
and may n indica h acins hy
wuld ak. this is an aa wh i
will b impan f plicymaks
cnsid ha mn and wmn may
spnd diffnly labu mak
incnivs.
|q|There is mention of concern
about the lack of soft skills (short-
comings in attitude and commit-
ment compared to expatriate work
force). What are the recommenda-
tions to set this right?
|a|Answing his qusin wuld
qui m invsigain, as h
a many diffncs bwn h
cndiins f xpaias and Qaai
wks. F xampl, xpaias
cm fm a wldwid pl and
ypically wk wih lss jb scuiy
han Qaais. ths diffn cndi-
ins may inunc h sf skills b-
svd amng wks. rsach in
h Unid Sas (.g., Sasz al 1993)
suggss ha i is pssibl ach
sm psiiv wk-lad skills andaiuds wihin a scnday schl
cuiculum, bu nw pgamm d-
signs and spcialisd ach aining
wuld b ndd s. Bu h sf
skills (.g., lyaly an mply
mivain) may b difcul al
hugh ducainal invnins
and may qui changs in mply-
mn plicis n
THE report recommends that
before any investments are made,Qatari policymakers prioritise the
post-secondary gaps according
to the value to be gained – by
both the economy and the society
– from addressing them. In doing
so, policymakers should consider a
number of issues, one of which is
whether an investment addresses
areas of national signicance in
furthering Qatar’s economic and
social goals. For example, provid-
ing high-quality graduate train-
ing will go a long way toward
developing future leaders of the
country, particularly women.
The same reasoning applies
to investing in new high-quality
undergraduate programmes. And
community colleges may provide
valuable training to many second-
ary school graduates not currently
pursuing post-secondary
education.
THE research points to a gap in
post-secondary education.
The three investment options
provided to ll the gap are:
1. Restructure programmes at
Qatar University.
2. Recruit new foreign institutions
to Qatar.
3. Develop new government-spon-
sored post-secondary pro-
grammes of less than four years.
Post secondary oPtions
“Lack f a schlaship, familyspnsibiliis, and h availabiliy f
scu, psigius and wllpaying gvnmn jbs may d
yung ppl fm pusuing
psscnday ducain.”
Prioritisation
|focus|