Scarcity of Qualified Workers Impedes Industrial Sector Development

Sawt Al-Amal (Voice of Hope) – Ahmad Omar

Oriented education is generally complementary to basic, secondary and university education. It aims to identify the degree of compatibility between the outputs of basic and university education and oriented education, as well as the needs of the labor market in terms of manufacturers in the industrial sector and to improve its outputs, in line with the needs of the labor market.

The education sector, both public and private, may achieve remarkable development. A number of factors result from this, most notably: the expansion of the volume of community activities and economic growth, in addition to the development of trends in development and private industry. As education is the basis for the development and advancement of any society.

Therefore, in the following, “Sawt Al-Amal” explains the role of the private sector in qualifying young people towards qualitative outputs in the industrial sector, commensurate with the market’s needs.

The Situation of Oriented Education Outcomes

The situation based on the outputs of public or private oriented education is considered supportive of basic, secondary and university education. It is a tributary to all sectors with technicians, professionals and industrialists, as well as it improves the requirements of the local market and its needs from local industries.

The Industrial Technical Institute of the Ministry of Technical Education and Vocational Training in Sahel Hadhramout published, on its official account on social media on August 26, 2021, the most prominent industrial vocational specializations taught at the institute, namely: electricity (electrical installations), furniture carpentry, sewing and detailing.  , aluminum blacksmithing, welding mechanics, light vehicle mechanics and turning.

While the specializations taught in the industrial technical field are: surveying and roads, computer software, industrial electronic control, car mechanics, oil equipment operation, car maintenance, hydraulic systems and automatics.

When “Sawt Al-Amal” asked Hussein Ghadaf, Director of the Rouaa Foundation for industrial vocational and technical training in Al-Shihr district, Hadramout governorate, about the current status of outputs and the existing vocational and technical specializations that qualify for industry, he replied that there are many specializations that vocational and technical institutes are working on refining through training and rehabilitation to meet the needs of the local labor market.

Ghadaf mentioned that the Rouaa Foundation contributes with other private sectors in qualifying young men and women in industries and gaining them experiences such as making crafts or handicrafts, including: making incense, janabi (specific type of dagger with a short curved blade), and leather products such as handbags and natural leather shoes.

In a special statement to “Sawt Al-Amal,” Dr. Abdulbaqi Al-Houthari, Director of the Office of the Ministry of Technical Education and Vocational Training, explained that the Industrial Institute, in its technical and vocational parts, conducts programs and courses. This is with the aim of supplying the local market with specialized industrial cadres to develop and advance the industrial sector.  He explained that there are many industrial vocational and technical courses at the level of the Hadhramout Coast Directorates and Socotra Governorate, including: maintenance of marine boat engines, plumbing, sanitation, gypsum and decoration and basic concepts of the International License “ICDL”.

In addition to food industries, knitting clothes, fishing nets maintenance, carpentry, mobile phone maintenance and electronic board maintenance for modern devices. Also there are other industrial vocational and technical courses are photocopiers maintenance, printers, computers, motorcycle maintenance, mobile phone maintenance and programming, photography and montage, electrical installations and solar energy.

Al-Hawthari pointed out the importance of courses targeting the young people, as it was not limited to the healthy only. But rather, people with special needs from the deaf and dumb category received special attention from the Industrial Institute by implementing a number of courses for them, the most notably the “Sculpture on the wood” course.

The College of Applied Sciences, Hadhramout University of Science and Technology, confirms in a research it published entitled: “Industry Development Strategy in the Valley and Desert of Hadhramout Governorate” that the desert and valley of Hadhramout has 41 medium and small industries, including: gas filling units, gold formation factories, dates filling units,  Sanitary water factories and flour mills.

He added that while small industries are “handcrafted” such as: desert air conditioner workshops, wood spraying of all kinds to produce various pieces, iron spraying of all kinds, block and brick factories, tile factories, handmade goldsmithing, handmade silversmithing, local biscuit factories, jaljal (sesame) presses. Additionally, local leather industry, clothing and upholstery sewing, shoe making, welding and plumbing workshops, ceramic repair, pottery repair, janabi (a specific type of dagger with a short curved blade) repair and other industries.

However, it is not possible to separate handicrafts and manual work in the other technical and industrial sectors in raising the efficiency of outputs and contributing to the promotion and upgrading of the country’s industrial sector.

The Gap between the Education Outcomes and Industry

On February 6, 2020, the “Yemeni Union for Freedoms” revealed the causes of the delay in the educational process in all its fields in Yemen, describing it as multiple, including: the difficult economic conditions of Yemeni society, as a result of the ongoing conflict in the country, and the lack of development and modernization of curricula and teaching methods used in schools, institutes and universities, the educational process has stagnated.

Emphasizing the need for concerted efforts to solve the problem of education of all kinds in Yemen, which is the biggest challenge after the economy facing the country. The concerted efforts are through community cooperation, starting with defining the importance of education and its role in the advancement of societies.

“In addition to the cooperation of the public and private sectors to consider the curricula taught in schools, universities and institutes, and work to establish joint committees by specialists and researchers to consider how to access appropriate curricula that benefit in present and future and improve work in various fields,” Yemeni Union for Freedoms added.

“However, there are many areas that contribute to the improvement and industrial and economic development in the country. There is still a large gap between them and the institutes due to the weak capabilities, and the lack of some specializations in the technical or industrial vocational institutes.”

The Role of the Private Sector and Industry in Qualifying

Many private sectors in Hadhramout governorate contributed to qualifying young people in the vocational, technical and industrial aspects, contributing to training and refining skills, improving the lives of individuals and families, and relying on their expertise to obtain job opportunities that contribute to their financial stability. All of these through courses held by civil society organizations and private institutions.  The most prominent of which are the Rouaa Foundation, Hadhramout Foundation for Invention and Scientific Advancement, Al-Amal Center for Women’s Training and Rehabilitation, and other institutions interested in nurturing and qualifying young people in the technical, vocational and creative industrial aspects.

In addition, Al-Amal Center for Women’s Training and Rehabilitation in Mukalla city to teach women’s skills that contribute to the industrial sector, such as making incense, perfumes, knitting and designing sofas. Hadhramout Foundation for Invention also contributed to the emergence of successful industrialized and innovative youth energies that won Arab and International awards in the patent. Other institutions and private sectors contribute to this aspect as well.

On February 22, 2022, Hadhramout Foundation for Invention concluded its training course on engineering and maintenance of medical devices and training on maintaining medical equipment. This will contribute to resolving many of the crises of equipment accumulated in public and private hospitals. And this is among the goals of the Foundation, according to what the Foundation’s media reported.

Obstacles

The writer, Salah Abdulsalam Al-Haijami, mentioned in his article entitled “Education in Yemen: Pains of Reality and Hopes for the Future!”, published on May 7, 2013, that the most prominent challenges facing the educational process of all kinds are: the large deficit in the infrastructure of educational and training institutions, with a significant imbalance in the geographical distribution of public, vocational and technical education institutions, which is in favor of urban areas at the expense of rural areas.

Al-Haijami added that private education is an integral part of the public education system. Indeed, most of these schools experience major problems. Some of their principals do not hold educational certificates that qualify them to lead schools and some of them suffer from a significant shortage in the numbers of teachers, specializations and laboratory equipment.

The National Information Center published research on the most prominent problems and obstacles facing the industrial sector in Yemen. The center summarized them by the lack of a clear strategy for industrial development, the limited ability of business owners and private and small enterprises to access sources of financing for their activities that they need, and other technical problems represented in the scarcity of trained technical workers.

As well as the competition of foreign goods for local products, the inability of the internal domestic industry to compete in foreign markets, the expansion of smuggling and dumping, and the lack of interest in sectors that represent a basic building block for the development of the industrial sector, such as: agriculture, fish, mining and others.

A research entitled “The Industrial Sector in the Republic” published in 2000, in the National Information Center, indicated that the industrial sector, from the beginning of the seventies until the early nineties, had continuous support and funding from the state or the private sector especially the expatriate sector. This led to the growth and development of the industrial sector during that period.

As for the current situation of investment in the industrial sector, it is going through a critical stage, as a result of lifting the support provided to industrial facilities and the liquidation of the Industrial Bank. Thus it faced many obstacles, which led to the obstruction of many industrial projects.

These reasons are due to the unavailability of the necessary financing and the high interest rates on loans provided by the banking system.  This affected the high production costs and weakened the industry’s capacity, according to the National Information Center.

Solutions

“Al-Saeed Foundation for Science and Culture in Taiz Governorate” published a book by Dr. Ahmed Ali Al-Hajj in 2008, entitled: “The Journey of Vocational and Technical Education and Training in Yemen,” in which he emphasized that the data of reality indicate changes in the composition of Yemeni forces and workers. The country’s economy will increasingly depend on science and advanced technology and expands its programs on the quality of these various economic and social activities.

Dr. Al-Hajj explained that this imposes on vocational and technical education the necessity of change, expansion of its area and diversification of its institutions.  These are in order to absorb all specializations, including the new ones with their modern contents and to follow up on the new in the branches of science and its applications in order for the cadres graduated from it to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are able to occupy jobs. As the number of technicians reached 60% of the workforce or more in some specializations at the expense of skilled labor and specialists.

In 2009, the Ministry of Industry and Trade published an announcement to hold a competition for local inventions in various scientific, agricultural, medical and industrial fields.  All of them aim to highlight the interests of young people and the qualitative renaissance that these activities will achieve for the country in general.

The ministry will provide support to inventors and innovators, and benefit from their inventions at this critical stage in the country’s history. As it is in dire need of national inventions, which represent a way out of many economic crises.

In the same context, Hussain Ghaddaf, Director of Rouaa Foundation, identified to “Sawt Al-Amal” the most prominent solutions that limit the exacerbation of the majority’s reluctance to the technical and industrial professional aspects in some governorates, namely: intensifying the awareness-raising role on the importance of acquiring expertise, and raising awareness of the local market’s need for these areas that it will open up opportunities for many to work, and to join the Technical and Industrial Institute.

The opinions reached by “Sawt Al-Amal” through meeting with specialists agree on the importance of qualifying young people towards the industrial sector, as well as the oriented education has a major role in helping individuals manage their time, by learning and acquiring specific skills or experiences in many fields to increase their culture and expand their knowledge.

This, in turn, helps expand individuals’ future options, and provides them with opportunities to work in various places and jobs based on the skills they have acquired from directed learning in the industrial sector or otherwise.

As most jobs in the current era focus on what the individual possesses of skills that he can employ in the work environment more than his focus on the university degree that he possesses in a specific field. Additionally, the person who learns a specific skill becomes a person who is resistant to the circumstances of life to become a source of his income.