70pc of youth prefer govt jobs

Manama : At a time when the government introduces various initiatives to promote the private sector, the youngsters are least attracted to private sector jobs.  

With the cash crunch that followed the dip in oil prices, Bahrain has implemented various measures to encourage the growth of the private sector. But majority of the Bahraini and GCC youth still prefer jobs in the government sector, according to the findings of the eighth annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey. 

The survey results were unveiled by the CEO of ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller, Sunil John, at the third Global Islamic Economy Summit, held in Dubai recently. 

As per the survey, 70pc of the youth in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE prefer a government job to a job in the private sector. Overall, 50pc of the Arab youth in MENA region said they prefer a government job.

In the GCC, only 15pc youngsters prefer private sector jobs, while 14pc of them did not have a preference and one per cent youth said they were undecided.  

Those 51pc youth, who prefer government jobs, cited higher wages as the deciding factor. Better healthcare and other benefits (35pc), more paid holidays (29pc) and shorter working hours (27pc) were also cited as reasons.

“Persuading young people to take on roles in the private sector is essential to creating a strong, sustainable economy,” pointed out John.

“These findings show that despite ongoing efforts to make the private sector more appealing to young Gulf Arabs, the message isn’t getting through as fast as governments – or the private sector -would like. New initiatives and policies, such as Saudi’s Vision 2030, the removal of subsidies on fuel and introduction of VAT across the Gulf, show that governments are serious about new economic realities,” he said. 

“However, it seems balancing expectations about public sector work with the realities of private sector employment for those young nationals entering the workforce will require more effort,” the CEO added.