Gulf states use more human capital
The UAE leads the other Gulf states and the Arab region at large in the Global Human Capital Index 2017. In the process, it placed 45th in the world thanks mainly to key achievements in the development category. Specific to the development category, which emphasises the availability of training skills diversity, it ranked 19th.
The UAE is renowned for enticing skilled people from all over to work in its diversified economy. They help with transferring knowledge via on-the-job training. Yet, the UAE needs improvement in capacity and deployment categories.
Bahrain was placed 47th in the world, and, not surprisingly, excels in the area of capacity, which in turn focuses on the easy availability of educational facilities. It ranked 30th on this score and ahead of many European countries, let alone Arab ones.
The first school in the Gulf was opened in Bahrain, and it also has the oldest state school system in the Arabian Peninsula.
Bahrain distinguishes itself
Human capital is the one area that Bahrain attempts to distinguish itself from its regional competitors while acknowledging being the smallest country in terms of size, population and GDP. In reality, the challenge lies in staying ahead as countries everywhere appreciate the importance of tapping human capital and talent.
Qatar ranked 55th overall in the deployment subindex. Unemployment among locals is not a matter of concern giving the diverse employment opportunities. Also, the public sector has the capacity to absorb nationals desiring to work in government.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade links with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of financing terrorism and cozying up to their arch-rival Iran.
Saudi Arabia was at 82nd and showing its best performance in the know-how subindex. Clearly, this reflects the fact that the kingdom is the largest economy in the GCC, and therefore has the capability of attracting skilled people in oil, industry and other sectors.
Kuwait ranks 96th in the report with a better performance in the deployment sub-index, possibly due to availability of employment chances for locals, especially in the government.
It was the World Economic Forum that published the report, which ranks 130 nations on the basis of four sub-indices namely capacity, deployment, development and knowhow. Each index carries 25 per cent weightage. The results are linked to achievements of five age groups, 0-14; 15-24; 25-54; 55-64 and above 65 years.
The capacity sub-index focuses on literacy, primary, secondary and tertiary education, while deployment looks into participation in the labour force, gender gap, unemployment and underemployment. The development sub-index caters to the quality of education, skills diversity and vocational training. And the know-how category explores availability of skilled employees and economic complexity.
Led by Norway, European countries hold the top ranks in the index. Yemen had the worst ranking, not least because numerous other countries are not reviewed in the report. These include Oman, ostensibly due to the absence of hard data.