ROUTLEDGE LIBRARY EDITIONS:
KUWAIT
Volume 5
THE MANPOWER PROBLEM
IN KUWAIT
First published in 1981 by Kegan Paul International Ltd
This edition first published in 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
1981 Shamlan Y. Alessa
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ISBN: 978-1-138-62956-1 (Set)
ISBN: 978-1-315-15946-1 (Set) (ebk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-06535-2 (Volume 5) (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-15970-6 (Volume 5) (ebk)
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The manpower problem
in Kuwait
Shamlan Y. Alessa
Kegan Paul International
London and Boston
First published in 1981
by Kegan Paul International Ltd
39 Store Street,
London WC1E 7DD,
9 Park Street,
Boston, Mass. 02108, USA and
Broadway House,
Newtown Road,
Henley on- Thames,
Oxon RG9 1EN
Set in Press Roman by
Hope Services, Abingdon, Oxon.
and printed in Great Britain by
Biddles Ltd, Guildford
Shamaln Y. Alessa 1981
No part of this book may be reproduced in
any form without permission from the
publisher, except for the quotation of brief
passages in criticism
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Alessa, Shamlan Y.
The manpower problem in Kuwait. - (Arab world studies)
1. Labor supply - Kuwait
2. Kuwait - Economic conditions
I. Title II. Series
331.1 F09536705 HD5836.K/
ISBN 0-7103-0009-3
To the memory of my father,
the most influential person in my life,
who in 1911 opened the first school in Kuwait
and inspired in me the pursuit of knowledge
Contents
Tables
No words can express the deep gratitude I owe to all those people connected, directly and indirectly, with the writing of this book.
Many thanks are due to the numerous people who took it upon themselves to assist me in the monumental task of gathering all the available and accessible data relating to manpower in Kuwait, especially the Ministry of Planning and the Arab Planning Institute.
Most of all I am extremely grateful to Professors Arpad von Lazar and Robert Meagher, two very great friends and advisers, who throughout gave unstinting support and assistance.
Finally, I would like to thank my wife for all her help and support during the writing of this book.
Development, or modernization, has become one of the most fascinating topics of study for social scientists from a variety of backgrounds. Although scholars disagree on any single definition of development, it cannot be said to take place without an improvement in the condition and well-being of man. The development of such human resources is essential for sustained economic growth. As one economist has stated: The country that can not develop its people can develop little else.
If capital investment and material technology are pushed energetically in an underdeveloped country while little or no attention is given to the deliberate promotion of appropriate social and psychological change that is, to the more specifically human side of development the result is likely to be either a failure of the development process to take and become self-generating or creation of a menace to the Free World.
It is clear that the manpower issue is not purely an economic one but rather a multidisciplinary one, involving sociology, psychology, economics, law and political science.
There is an abundance of literature on underdeveloped countries where the emphasis is on capital shortage and surplus of labour as the impediments to economic growth. There are very few studies, however, where surplus of capital and shortage of labor (manpower) are the problem. Kuwait is just such a case and as such represents in many respects the opposite of the less developed countries in general. It presents unique problems through its unusual combination of capital surplus but scarcity of indigenous labor, both skilled and unskilled.
The manpower problem in Kuwait cannot be adequately understood in economic terms alone, as we have seen. The issue has rather to be seen as a combination of economic, social and political factors. We can isolate these as follows:
(1) A predominance of expatriate labor. The rapid growth in Kuwaits economy opened the door to employment opportunities. With this, came a demand for labor that the native Kuwaiti was unable to meet, leaving the majority of jobs to be filled by expatriate labor.
(2) The young age of the Kuwaiti population. It is interesting to note that half of the Kuwaiti population is less than 15 years of age.
(3) The high illiteracy rate among the Kuwaiti labor force.
(4) The small part played by women in the Kuwaiti labor force. Though it is increasing steadily, Kuwaiti womens participation in the labor force remains small.
(5) The refusal of many to undertake any kind of manual work. Managerial, professional and government jobs are considered more prestigious.
The purpose of this book is to analyze the shortage of manpower in Kuwait and to propose solutions. In particular, we seek to examine four observations:
(1) Because of a unique combination of historical and social factors, Kuwait was unprepared for the impact of rapid growth.
(2) The lack of a comprehensive economic plan one of the major factors contributing to manpower problems in Kuwait.
(3) Present massive educational programmes will not solve the manpower shortage.
(4) Instability in the Middle East has been beneficial for the supply of labor in Kuwait.
This will require the analysis of recent and current trends in the labor force, including growth of employment, immigration, structure of the labor force, distribution according to sector, occupation, educational level and nationality. The impact of these trends on Kuwaiti development prospects will be discussed.
looks at education and manpower in Kuwait and at government measures to deal with the manpower shortage through educational means. The final chapter is devoted to the development of a manpower plan for Kuwait.
