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.

2. 58 > qatar today > october 2013
H
owever, technical vocational ed-
ucation and training (TVET) has
not been a significant focus of
educational reform. Though the
need for a technically-trained
labour force was recognised by
policymakers as early as the 1940s, when
Qatar began exporting oil, dedicated TVET
institutions began to emerge only in the
late 1990s with the establishment of several
post-secondary institutions, two second-
ary institutions for boys, government-run
training academies, and the emergence of a
private training market.
DespitetheproliferationofTVETinstitu-
tions, many of the governance institutions
that provide regulation and coordinate pol-
icy and institutional stakeholders are still in
a nascent state. TVET policies in Qatar have
largely proceeded without a clear conceptu-
alisation of what fields it encompasses and
whether TVET leads to jobs that are accept-
able to Qataris. The lack of a clear definition
of what constitutes TVET and overcoming
negative stereotypes related to TVET in
Qatar are key challenges to policy forma-
tion. TVET faces an identity crisis in which
people are unhappy with its name, its image
and its reputation.
The missing half of the TVET debate
While prior research has established that
Qatari females attend higher education at
much higher rates than males (Qatar To-
day November 2012 cover story) and has
explored reasons why men fail to continue
into higher education, very few studies have
explored why Qatari females pursue aca-
demic education over TVET. There is also a
lack of research concerning the labour mar-
ket decisions of Qatari females and how the
highly technical, knowledge-intensive fields
expected to emerge as a result of Qatar’s
knowledge-based economic development
will shape the future education and employ-
ment decisions of females.
According to United Nations statistics,
73% of all students attending higher ed-
business > viewpoint
AttractingWomen
toTechnicalFields
inQatar
Women
Wanted
OverthepastseveraldecadesQatarhasreformeditseducationand
trainingsystemtoalignitwithmacroeconomicpoliciesaimedat
advancingtowardsaknowledge-basedeconomy.

3. qatar today > october 2013 > 59
ucation programmes in Qatar are wom-
en, second only to Bahrain in the Gulf
Cooperation Council. However, only 38%
of the students pursuing TVET education
in Qatar are women, despite emerging em-
ployment opportunities in technical fields.
Qatar has one of the highest female labour
market participation rates in the Arab
world. Because a large number of women
attend academic higher education and en-
ter the labour market, many people view
the lack of female enrolment and employ-
ment in technical fields as a low priority
issue. However, high female employment
concentrations in select public sector fields
is inconsistent with the country’s economic
ambitions to grow technology- and innova-
tion-driven industries as Qatar transitions
to a knowledge-based economy. As Qatar
prepares to host the World Cup in 2022 and
continues to diversify its economy beyond
the extractive industries, it must ensure
that its education and training system is
able to evolve to meet its economic ambi-
tions, particularly with regard to the in-
clusion of females in high-skill, high-wage
technical fields.
Challenges and barriers
A strong commitment was made to TVET
reform and female employment in the
Qatar National Vision 2030, the National
Development Strategy 2011-2016, and the
Education and Training Sector Strategy in
order to realise Qatar’s economic develop-
ment ambitions. However, several gender
issues related to TVET participation and la-
bour market outcomes for women in Qatar
deserve attention:
Though improving, female enrolment in
TVET is comparatively low
Despite significant gains in reforming high-
er education, several institutional gaps still
exist, such as a lack of secondary TVET
schools for women. This lack of secondary
technical schools for women stands at odds
with data released by the Qatar Statistics
Authority (QSA), which show that Qatari
women contribute significantly to emerg-
ing technical sectors of the Qatari economy
such as ICT, utilities provision, oil and gas,
and technical research. The large number
of female students who pursue an academic
higher education pathway is heavily influ-
enced by the absence of secondary TVET
institutions for women, lack of early career
guidance, and few experiential opportuni-
tiesforgirlstobeexposedtotechnicalfields
at a young age.
Research by the General Secretariat
industry sectors in which females earn more than/less than the
average wage in the public sector
sector and monthly average wage
QATARIS
EMPLOYED
IN SECTOR
FEMALE
QATARI
EMPLOYMENT
AS % OF TOTAL
QATARIS
EMPLOYED IN
SECTOR
TOTAL
FEMALES
EMPLOYED
IN SECTOR
QAtari
females as
% of total
females
employed in
sector
agriculture, forestry, fishing (qr 4,405) 26 0% 55 0%
mining and quarrying (qr 18,783) 7,738 12% 3,102 30%
manufacturing (qr 6,614) 918 12% 691 16%
electricity, gas, steam, air cond. (qr 18,424) 1,327 7% 479 21%
water supply, sewerage, wastemgmt. (qr 13,431) 123 31% 38 100%
Construction (qr 3,964) 709 11% 2,930 3%
wholesale/retail trade, vehicle repair (qr 6,516) 1,451 25% 5,523 7%
transportation and storage (qr 11,722) 1,466 8% 5,338 2%
accommodation and food service (qr 6,375) 593 33% 2,990 6%
information and communication (qr 18,483) 2.403 27% 2,783 24%
financial and insurance services (qr 19,453) 2,802 52% 3,209 46%
real estate activities (qr 14,017) 669 13% 369 23%
prof., scientific and tech. activities (qr 7,756) 301 26% 1,583 5%
administrative and support services (qr 5,935) 718 64% 2,390 19%
public administration and defence (qr 22,898) 45,463 21% 13,805 69%
education (qr 17,319) 10,652 84% 18,515 49%
human health and social work (qr 17,068) 4,516 75% 11,796 29%
art, entertainment and recreation (qr 13,969) 828 62% 752 69%
other service activities (qr 6,460) 89 18% 680 2%
activities of households as employers (qr 2,381) 0 0% 90,361 0%
extraterritorial organisations (qr 18,287) 21 29% 331 2%
80% of
Qatari
females are
employed
in these
section
Less sector more
-16,909 agriculture, forestry, fishing
mining and quarrying 3,974
-7,279 manufacturing
-5,040 electricity, gas, steam
-3,586 water supply, sewerage, waste
-7,874 Construction
-12,112 wholesale/retail trade, vehicle repair
-4,896 transportation and storage
-11,267 accommodation and food service
-2,226 information and communication
-1,815 financial and insurance activities
-2,960 real estate activities
-8,112 prof., scientific and tech. activities
-8,308 administrative and support services
-2,596 education
-2,733 human health and social work
-500 art, entertainment and recreation
-11,071 other service activities
-17,439 activities of households
activities of extraterritorial organisations 217
Source:QatarStatisticAuthority,2012Source:QatarStatisticAuthority,2012

4. 60 > qatar today > october 2013
for Development Planning (GSDP) shows
that rates of return for short, technically-
focused diploma studies exceed those for
higher education. This means that, on av-
erage, women who pursue technical diplo-
mas make more in terms of average lifetime
salaries than women who pursue academic
tracks at the higher education level.
Women receive fewer on-the-job
training opportunities
Over the past decade, the number of train-
ing institutions that provide training pri-
vately and in the workplace in Qatar has
grown dramatically. This is due to the
emergence of a private training market
as well as several government and mixed
companies establishing internal training
units. While lack of policies concerning li-
censing and quality control of the private
training institutions has been highlighted
as a high priority issue, a potentially bigger
issue of concern is that data from the QSA
show women receive substantially less on-
the-job training than men once they are
employed. As more women enter the labour
marketandworkforlongerperiods,lowlev-
els of training for women could potentially
serve as a bottleneck that limits the overall
effectiveness of organisations in Qatar.
Women often wind up employed in the
public sector, education and social work
Evolving socio-cultural values often af-
fect the education and career decisions of
women. For example, while there has been
a notable rise in the enrolment of women
in TVET institutions, 80% of the Qatari fe-
male labour force is employed in less tech-
nical sectors such as public administration
and defence, education, and human health
and social work. According to the most
recent Qatar labour market survey, not a
single Qatari woman is employed in an oc-
cupation in the international standard clas-
sification of technical occupations, statisti-
cally grouping for craft and related trades
workers and plant and machine operators
and assemblers. The clustering of women in
select occupations in government, educa-
tion and social work reflects a phenomenon
found in other Arab countries too, where
individuals who have received specialised
academic or TVET training ultimately wind
up employed in positions not related to
their original training.
Cultural factors strongly influence
women’s choice of employment. A focus
group convened by the GSDP and Minis-
try of Labour revealed that females prefer
employment in the government sector
evolution of percentage of female students
as a proportion of total students at tertiary-type b
5b level - mainly technical and vocational
note: the uae only has data available for 2009; kuwait only has data
available for 2011 from the kuwait central statistical bureau.
2003 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 2011
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Relative to GCC countries, saudi
arabia and qatar have lower female
participation rates in tvet
evolution of percentage of female students
as a proportion of total students at tertiary-type a
level - more advanced skills
note: the uae only has data available for 2009; kuwait has data available
only for 2003 and 2004, reflecting 65% participation for both years.
 females in qatar make up 73% of all students attending
higher education programmes
 with the exception of bahrain, qatar has the highest
number of women attending higher education programmes
in the gcc
2003 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 2011
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
80%
70%
bahrain oman saudi arabia qatar uae kuwait
Qataris Trained
female Qataris
Trained as % of total
qataris Trained
Training Location
Government Ministries and Corporations
Semi Government Corporations
Private Training Centers
Source:StateofKuwaitCentralStatisticBureau,2011;UNESCOInstituteforStatistics,2013al
Source: Qatar Statistics Authority, 2011
20,529 1,440
38%
7,810
68%
44%
other
nationalities Trained
10,165 7,54418,670
female Trained as
% of total other
nationalities Trained
3%
51%
21%
Below gender parity
business > viewpoint

5. qatar today > october 2013 > 61
rather than privately-owned companies,
since it is “conducive to their cultural
requirements”. In addition to the socio-cul-
tural values that shape career choice, the
high comparative wages paid to females in
the public sector and the sectors dominated
by government-owned and mixed compa-
nies over other technically focused sectors
isasignificanteconomicdeterrenttofemale
entry into more diverse disciplines. Accord-
ing to Qatar’s recent labour market survey,
the average monthly salary for women em-
ployed in technical occupations (craft and
related trades workers and plant and ma-
chine operators and assemblers) is between
QR2,369 to QR2,750. This amounts to 14%
of what a woman would earn employed in a
professional role in the public sector. Aver-
age monthly wages outside the public sector
are comparatively unattractive relative to
the high average monthly wage of QR19,523
paid to women in the public sector. The ex-
tractive sector is the only sector in Qatar
to offer a monthly wage that exceeds the
average in the public sector.
Significant education and labour
market reforms
Strong TVET education systems have been
showntohelpnationsprepareyoungpeople
for careers in technical industries associat-
ed with knowledge-based economies. High
rates of participation by females in the la-
bour market will be essential if Qatar is to
reach its ambitious economic development
goals. However, to ensure that females not
only receive the training they need but also
transition to technical fields, a number of
barriers that serve as disincentives to TVET
enrolment and women’s work in technical
fields must be addressed.
A priority for Qatar should be to offer op-
tions for TVET education for females at the
secondary level. The fact that females start
their exposure to TVET later than males has
many important repercussions, not only
depriving females of exposure to TVET op-
tionsbutalsosubtlyimplyingthatTVETed-
ucationisworsethanacademiceducationor
is not appropriate for females. The effect is
likely to discourage females from pursuing
TVET education at the post-secondary lev-
el. Expanded institutional offerings should
be accompanied by a rethinking of sponsor-
ship and scholarship schemes, which serve
to perpetuate existing stereotypes about the
roles that women should perform and the
types of education they pursue.
To bolster the number of women in TVET
education and jobs, Qatar must continue to
emphasise technical vocational education
and training for women while making tech-
nical careers more competitive in terms of
pay and status. Labour market policies must
be pursued that reduce the pay and benefit
differentials between the public sector and
private sector employment in technical in-
dustries. An initial step in achieving this is
identifying economic sectors with the po-
tential to generate high-skill, high-wage
employment opportunities for women. Giv-
en Qatar’s strong economic performance in
the finance, aviation and hospitality indus-
tries, these might be areas to expand TVET
options.
A long-term public awareness campaign
that highlights women who are successful
in TVET fields and focuses on the value of
TVET to Qatar’s development will also be
essential. Young women need more female
role models in technical fields and must be
exposed to technical industries through
structured programmes and partnerships.
Employers who require technically-trained
staff must also make a concerted effort to
enticemorewomenintotechnicalsectorsof
the labour market by engaging universities
and training institutes, providing direct-
ed career guidance, and offering scholar-
ships. On-the-job training and mentorships
can further enhance the role of women in
technical careers in Qatar.
The role of women beyond 2022
While some have suggested that the award-
ing of the World Cup 2022 to Qatar has
brought clarity to economic sectors that
could provide employment opportunities
over the next several years, Qatar must re-
tainitsfocuson2030andbeyond.Whilethe
World Cup will create economic and job op-
portunities over the next decade, it remains
unclear if these positions will be of interest
to women and whether the employment
opportunities created will be in line with
Qatar’s focus on creating innovative, skilled
industries associated with knowledge econ-
omies. As the recent Olympics held in Lon-
don showed, many of the jobs created by
large showcase events are concentrated in
the construction and retail sectors, which
currently do not offer sufficient wages to at-
tract Qataris. Qatar will have to think hard
about whether gearing the education and
trainingsystemtoaccommodatelarge-scale
events like the World Cup may ultimately
stray from the vision articulated in the Qa-
tar National Vision 2030 and National De-
velopment Strategy, which emphasises the
development of innovation-driven, knowl-
edge-based industries that can sustain the
country’s rapid economic growth
By Walid Aradi and wes schwalje ,
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating
Officer at Consulting
About Tahseen Consulting
Tahseen Consulting is a
specialised advisor on strategic
and organisational issues,
focusing on governments,
social sector institutions
and corporations in the Arab
world. With deep experience
developing and monitoring
technical vocational education
and training systems in the
Arab world, it aligns national
educational systems with
broader economic development,
business and social measures.
To learn more, visit
www.tahseen.ae.