Employment key challenge in Mena’s economic development

Dubai: Employment is a key challenge in the future of economic development in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, economists and decision makers said at a summit in Dubai on Wednesday.

According to the population profile in the Mena region, the youth dominate as more than 50 per cent are below the age of 25, said Johan Andrews, Contributing Editor at The Economist, during The Economist Events’ “Future of Work ME Summit” in Dubai.

“There is a huge demographic pressure and that causes a problem as finding jobs for the youth is very challenging in the region with education systems not meeting the requirements of the market.” he said.

For this reason, regional governments work towards establishing more diversified economies and developing a highly skilled local workforce, by investing heavily in innovation, local talents and entrepreneurship initiatives... as well as by focusing on economic diversification and education towards becoming a knowledge economy, he said.

Mena region is experiencing an explosion of youth population with more than 30 per cent of the population currently between the age of 15 and 29, and the youth unemployment average hovering around 25 per cent, according to The Economist.

Moreover, women in the region still lag far behind their international counterparts, with fewer than 20 per cent of adult women in paid employment, the release said.

“Innovation is fundamental to economic prosperity and a crucial factor for job creation,” said Reem Al Hashemi, UAE Minister of State and Director General of Bureau Dubai Expo 2020.

Economic diversification

Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of the Department of Economic Development in Dubai, said that being well aware of the emirate’s very limited natural resources base, the UAE’s leadership capitalized on the history of Dubai as a regional trade hub, and developed a strategy aimed at attaining a high level of international competitiveness in several related services.

“Dubai is constantly seizing new opportunities to keep up with technological progress and opening new windows of diversification and intensification of knowledge,” he said.

The government meanwhile is constantly improving its own efficiency by integrating up-to-date innovations into its operations and management in order to provide the most efficient services to businesses and residents, according to Al Qamzi.

For Gerard Gallagher, Mena advisory leader at EY, economic diversification and unemployment are key challenges to speed up progress in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

“Dependency on oil and issues around youth employment are the GCC’s biggest economic challenges. With recent oil price volatility, diversification has returned to the top of the GCC agenda; it is an opportunity worth $17.7 billion [Dh65 billion],” he said.