In The Shadows Of Iraq: Qubad Talabani (Part 3)

A significant challenge for a developing country is developing an adequate workforce. Here I discuss the situation of the current workforce in Kurdistan. The most significant issue is that there has been little technical development in the workforce, thus there are limitations on the type of work that can be performed. A second significant drawback is the limited language skills, although time may indeed change this – I look at the trends where the US has set up military bases (South Korea is a prime example), and wonder if things were not so different for those countries at first as well? Having a large population returning from the US and Europe will not only improve the technical skills of the area, but also bring other traditions back with them (as well as contacts). Ties with other Universities is also of paramount importance.

SM: How skilled is the workforce in Kurdistan? Are there folks there with technical training, such as engineering, computer science, and other scientific degrees to support economic growth? QT: While the development boom has attracted an influx of skilled workers from other parts of Iraq and from neighboring countries, Kurdistan is still in need of improving the skills and capacities of its indigenous work force. Newly graduated individuals still have difficulty finding jobs in their field, and our community is still frustrated by petrol shortages and electrical and water deficiencies.

Having said that, we are experiencing a return to Kurdistan of ex-pats from Europe and the US — many of whom have developed a skill or an area of expertise. The fact that for many decades Kurdistan was cut off from the International Community resulted in a stagnation of the level of expertise in the engineering and health sectors in particular. Since Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and since reconnecting Kurdistan to the outside world, and given the fact that we have partnerships and dialogs with many institutions and universities world-wide, I expect a rapid increase in the capacity and competency of our workforce.

[to be continued]

[Part 2]
[Part 1]

This segment is part 3 in the series : In The Shadows Of Iraq: Qubad Talabani
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