Saudi Gazette report RIYADH – There is a large gap between educational output and job market requirements, said Minister of Labor Adel Fakieh at the second Arab Forum on Development and Employment here on Wednesday. He said the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) was established for the purpose of providing training to qualify nationals and develop their productive skills and increase their employment opportunities. “The instructions of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abullah are to continue and increase the development of human resources and improve the job environment,” he said. He pointed out these instructions were delivered with the intention of providing more job opportunities for nationals and has been met with significant success. Kuwaiti Minister of Work and Social Affairs Hind Al-Sebaih said the reason for unemployment in the Gulf country was because the nationals prefer certain jobs, better salaries, lower working hours She claimed the main reason for rising unemployment among women was because most job opportunities were only available for men. “This clearly shows that women are not stealing jobs from men,” she said. She explained that Kuwait has set certain quotas for the number of workers from different countries to preserve the population structure of the country. Al-Sebaih said the solution to the employment problem starts with the young generation changing their perception of work. “Most graduates seek government jobs because they are more comfortable. Such perceptions should change,” she said. The head of the Arab international women symposium, Haifa Al-Kilani, said it was wrong to believe that women were responsible for the high rate of unemployment among men. She noted that European and international economies are built on the participation of all sectors of society.
