Policy and practical implications for workforce nationalization in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries

What is it about?

Over several decades, the six Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries have been implementing several nationalization initiatives to increase the percentage and qualifications of their national employees. The significance of these initiatives stems from the fact that the GCC countries lack adequately trained citizens and, regardless of political attitudes toward foreigners, any development plans for modernization, industrialization, or urbanization must rely heavily on foreign employees, as nationals represent the minority of employees and are largely employed in the public sector. This phenomenon has attracted the attention of an increasing number of scholars, who have discussed different aspects of nationalization and how to effectively implement it. Based on reviewing their observations, we advance research on workforce nationalization through identifying ten policy and practical implications, through the lens of four perspectives at different levels, namely, legal, organizational, human development, and socio-cultural perspectives, which both governments and employers need to consider when developing any holistic strategy for effective workforce nationalization.

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