Wesley Schwalje

Over the past several decades Qatar has dramatically reformed its education and training system to align it with macroeconomic policies aimed at advancing towards a knowledge-based economy. However, technical vocational education and training (TVET) has not been a significant focus of educational reform. Though the need for a technically trained labor force was recognized by policy makers in Qatar as early as the 1940s when Qatar began exporting oil, dedicated TVET institutions began to emerge… عرض المزيد

Over the past several decades Qatar has dramatically reformed its education and training system to align it with macroeconomic policies aimed at advancing towards a knowledge-based economy. However, technical vocational education and training (TVET) has not been a significant focus of educational reform. Though the need for a technically trained labor force was recognized by policy makers in Qatar as early as the 1940s when Qatar began exporting oil, dedicated TVET institutions began to emerge only in the late 1990s with establishment of several postsecondary institutions, two secondary institutions for boys, government-run training academies, and the emergence of a private training market. عرض أقل

In our recent study A Conceptual Model of National Skills Formation for Knowledge-based Economic Development in the Arab World we raise a red flag over whether regional economic development plans have sufficiently accommodated global trends that have eroded the high wage, high skill opportunity bargain throughout Europe and the United States as these regions have pursued knowledge-based development. Nearly all of the countries in the Arab World have adopted development of a knowledge-based… عرض المزيد

In our recent study A Conceptual Model of National Skills Formation for Knowledge-based Economic Development in the Arab World we raise a red flag over whether regional economic development plans have sufficiently accommodated global trends that have eroded the high wage, high skill opportunity bargain throughout Europe and the United States as these regions have pursued knowledge-based development. Nearly all of the countries in the Arab World have adopted development of a knowledge-based economy as a policy objective to meet economic, political, and social objectives. In the region, policies aimed at catalyzing knowledge-based economies are highly related to job creation, economic integration, economic diversification, environmental sustainability, and social development. While the advantages of knowledge-based economic development have become clearer, so too have the challenges of implementing related policies. عرض أقل

The movement of many countries towards knowledge-based economic development requires the transition to more effective skill formation systems. This paper proposes an institutionalist approach to national skills development systems in the advancement towards knowledge-based economic development. There is currently no accepted general framework to analyze national skills development systems which has resulted in countries adopting reactive approaches to skills development problems. The conceptual… عرض المزيد

The movement of many countries towards knowledge-based economic development requires the transition to more effective skill formation systems. This paper proposes an institutionalist approach to national skills development systems in the advancement towards knowledge-based economic development. There is currently no accepted general framework to analyze national skills development systems which has resulted in countries adopting reactive approaches to skills development problems. The conceptual framework advanced is an integrated, systemic view of national skills formation systems guided by government intervention in light of rampant failures of neo-liberal skills formation approaches that rely upon market mechanisms. The framework contributes to the skills formation literature by reviewing, synthesizing, and building on the literature from a multidisciplinary perspective that considers the relevant institutions and interests of key stakeholders as highly interrelated in the context of knowledge-based economic development and achievement of accompanying economic, political, and social objectives. عرض أقل

This article traces the evolution of knowledge-based economic development in the Arab World. In pursuing this objective, many countries in the region have made large state-driven human capital investments with the goals of job creation, economic integration, economic diversification, environmental sustainability, and social development. An assessment of the effectiveness of Arab investments in human capital shows marginal progress towards knowledge-based development over the last decade. A… عرض المزيد

This article traces the evolution of knowledge-based economic development in the Arab World. In pursuing this objective, many countries in the region have made large state-driven human capital investments with the goals of job creation, economic integration, economic diversification, environmental sustainability, and social development. An assessment of the effectiveness of Arab investments in human capital shows marginal progress towards knowledge-based development over the last decade. A disconnect between the skills developed in Arab skills formation systems and those required by private sector employers relegates Arab businesses to contesting lower-skilled, non-knowledge intensive industries which has stalled knowledge-based development in the region. عرض أقل

In Latin America and the Caribbean anecdotal evidence from business leaders, the press, and numerous government reports suggest many firms express a serious concern that they face internal employee skills deficiencies that limit performance, a phenomenon that has been labeled as a “skills gap.” This article explores the extent of national skills gaps; the importance of skills gaps relative to other business challenges; the industries facing the most severe skills gaps; and the prevalence of… عرض المزيد

In Latin America and the Caribbean anecdotal evidence from business leaders, the press, and numerous government reports suggest many firms express a serious concern that they face internal employee skills deficiencies that limit performance, a phenomenon that has been labeled as a “skills gap.” This article explores the extent of national skills gaps; the importance of skills gaps relative to other business challenges; the industries facing the most severe skills gaps; and the prevalence of skills gaps by firm size. Based on international example, the article also discusses the ramifications of skills gaps on firms and regional competitiveness. عرض أقل

In the Arab World there is a poor match between regional human capital and the skills demanded by employers with many firms expressing concern that they face internal employee skills deficiencies that limit performance, a phenomenon that has been popularly labeled as a “skills gap.” Many countries in the Arab World rank amongst the countries facing the most severe skills gaps in the world. While several surveys in the Arab World have identified soft skills and more basic employability skills… عرض المزيد

In the Arab World there is a poor match between regional human capital and the skills demanded by employers with many firms expressing concern that they face internal employee skills deficiencies that limit performance, a phenomenon that has been popularly labeled as a “skills gap.” Many countries in the Arab World rank amongst the countries facing the most severe skills gaps in the world. While several surveys in the Arab World have identified soft skills and more basic employability skills lacking in the workforce, there is a large empirical absence, both globally and in the Arab World, of studies regarding the impact of skills gaps on firm-level performance. This analysis will attempt to apply empirically driven international research to the case of the Arab World to determine the operational impacts of skills gaps on Arab companies. With the belief that companies and governments require more rigorous empirical evidence to translate management research into practices that solve organizational problems, the paper will conclude with suggestions on proactive strategies to close labor skills gaps to increase the competitiveness of key industries which face skills gaps. عرض أقل

While embrace of social media as a component of open government initiatives is still in its infancy in the Arab World, there is much expectation that public sector social media use will have a transformative impact on citizen participation in government, policy formation, and the way public sector entities conduct business. However, existing evolutionary models of e-government and open government maturity based on the experiences of Western democracies offer little support to Arab entities that… عرض المزيد

While embrace of social media as a component of open government initiatives is still in its infancy in the Arab World, there is much expectation that public sector social media use will have a transformative impact on citizen participation in government, policy formation, and the way public sector entities conduct business. However, existing evolutionary models of e-government and open government maturity based on the experiences of Western democracies offer little support to Arab entities that operate in an institutional environment characterized by much different governance traditions.

This study develops a social media maturity model which views public sector social media adoption as an evolutionary process that may involve substantial organizational changes for Arab institutions to move from initial stages of social media adoption to more advanced stages of social media use that truly reflect transparency, public participation, and collaboration. We find that current social media use by Arab government entities is focused primarily on one-way government to citizen communications that chronicle the activities of entities rather than offering additional public transparency and opportunities for citizen participation and collaboration.

Arab open government initiatives remain focused on providing information on low priority activities which is already available via traditional media and on institutional websites. In this way, rather than being a force for reform, social media use in open government initiatives has perpetuated existing patterns of opacity, centralized decision making, and paternalism. عرض أقل

Beginning in the late Nineties, Qatar launched a comprehensive set of education reforms to more effectively align its education and training system with its macroeconomic policies aimed at advancing towards a knowledge-based economy. However, technical vocational education and training (TVET) has not been a significant focus of educational reforms. While prior research has established that female Qataris attend higher education at much higher rates than males and has explored reasons why men… عرض المزيد

Beginning in the late Nineties, Qatar launched a comprehensive set of education reforms to more effectively align its education and training system with its macroeconomic policies aimed at advancing towards a knowledge-based economy. However, technical vocational education and training (TVET) has not been a significant focus of educational reforms. While prior research has established that female Qataris attend higher education at much higher rates than males and has explored reasons why men fail to continue on to higher education, very few studies have explored why Qatari females pursue academic education over TVET. There is also a lack of research concerning the labor market decisions of Qatari females and how highly technical, knowledge-intensive fields expected to emerge as a result of Qatar’s knowledge–based economic development will shape future education and employment decisions. This study is an attempt to fill these evidentiary gaps by evaluating the sufficiency of Qatar’s TVET system in meeting the education needs of women and exploring how labor market decisions will be affected by the increase in high skill, technical jobs expected to be generated by Qatar’s rapid economic development. عرض أقل

GCC economies remain heavily dependent on natural resources, employ large numbers of nationals in the public sector, and rely on relatively cheap foreign workers to fill the private sector. While demand for technically trained labor in the GCC countries is very high, traditionally much of this demand has been filled by foreign labor. However, further public sector employment generation aimed at meeting growing national populations may strain national budgets by increasing already high… عرض المزيد

GCC economies remain heavily dependent on natural resources, employ large numbers of nationals in the public sector, and rely on relatively cheap foreign workers to fill the private sector. While demand for technically trained labor in the GCC countries is very high, traditionally much of this demand has been filled by foreign labor. However, further public sector employment generation aimed at meeting growing national populations may strain national budgets by increasing already high government wage bills. For this reason, reforming national technical vocational education and training (TVET) systems in concert with introducing labor market reforms is increasingly a policy approach leveraged by GCC governments to reorient national employment towards the private sector and in-demand technical fields associated with knowledge-based economic development ambitions.

While GCC nations have launched a number of economic and education reforms to align their education and training systems with macroeconomic policies to develop diversified, knowledge-based economies, TVET policies have largely proceeded without a clear conceptualization of the scope of TVET and which types of institutions should be included in national TVET policies. In the GCC, TVET faces an identity crisis in which people are unhappy with the name, the image, and reputation. In addition to these larger concerns about TVET, GCC nations are also struggling with increasing the enrollment and employment of women in TVET fields. While some GCC countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, have viewed TVET as a key element of educational policy for many years, other GCC nations have only relatively recently focused their attention on improving TVET systems. In many cases, educational reforms have been accompanied by social and labor market policies aimed at ensuring women are increasingly trained in emerging technical fields and able to fully participate in the labor market. عرض أقل

This article advances a performance management framework for K‐12 education system reform that aligns ministry and sector strategies with the development goals established by the Qatar National Development Strategy 2011‐2016 and the Qatar National Vision 2030.

While Qatar has extensively reformed other educational levels over the past several decades, TVET has not been a significant focus. Though the need for expanded TVET pathways was recognized as early as the 1940s when Qatar began exporting oil, dedicated TVET institutions began to emerge only in the 1990s with the formalization of several government training institutions and the establishment of private universities in Qatar. However, several institutional gaps exist, such as a lack of secondary… عرض المزيد

While Qatar has extensively reformed other educational levels over the past several decades, TVET has not been a significant focus. Though the need for expanded TVET pathways was recognized as early as the 1940s when Qatar began exporting oil, dedicated TVET institutions began to emerge only in the 1990s with the formalization of several government training institutions and the establishment of private universities in Qatar. However, several institutional gaps exist, such as a lack of secondary TVET pathways for women. At the post-secondary level, Qatar has enhanced TVET pathways, including establishing institutions such as the College of the North Atlantic Qatar, Community College Qatar, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, Qatar Aeronautical College, Stenden University Qatar, and Calgary University Qatar, yet female enrollment in tertiary TVET programs is lower than all other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries except Saudi Arabia. While notable increases towards gender parity in post-secondary TVET have been observed recently, there is still room for improvement. عرض أقل

Through a multicountry, practice-based review of establishment skills surveys, this article identifies conceptual issues with defining and measuring skills gaps. By harmonizing divergent conceptualizations, an operational definition of skills gaps as a situation in which current employees lack the skills to perform their jobs which results in the compromised ability of a firm to meet business objectives is proposed. This operationalization of the concept offers a more complete answer to how… عرض المزيد

Through a multicountry, practice-based review of establishment skills surveys, this article identifies conceptual issues with defining and measuring skills gaps. By harmonizing divergent conceptualizations, an operational definition of skills gaps as a situation in which current employees lack the skills to perform their jobs which results in the compromised ability of a firm to meet business objectives is proposed. This operationalization of the concept offers a more complete answer to how firms are impacted by workforce deficiencies in achieving business objectives implying that understanding job proficiency without assessing the organizational context in which workforce skills are deployed towards market objectives is insufficient. By addressing measurement issues, an alternative approach to establishment skills surveys is advanced that can play a more effective role in determining how workforce skills influence achievement of firm business objectives. The open systems model of the firm is used to explain how skills gaps serve as a bottleneck to the overall functioning of the firm and to demonstrate that firm mitigation strategies are subject to managerial perceptions which can influence the effectiveness and level at which strategies are targeted. A typology of the causes of skills gaps is also proposed as a starting point for government intervention. عرض أقل

With increasing attention on a growing “skills gap” in many countries, it is important to ensure that there is conceptual clarity surrounding the term. The term “skills gap” is often incorrectly used as a catchall term describing both quantitative shortages in external labor markets as well as qualitative skills deficiencies internal to the firm.