Perhaps our most important asset!

We have many resources, both natural and non-natural, and our resources are a gift that must be utilised in the best way possible. Regarding utilisation, some of the resources are used in a satisfactory way, and some are still below the desired level.

One of these resources, as is known to all of us, is our human resources, the vast majority of whom are young people.

The blessings at this level are multiple: there is a population “gift”, meaning an abundance of people, whose opposite, i.e. population scarcity or decline, is a serious problem for many developed countries, both in the East and in the West. There is also an abundance in the youth sector, meaning that the percentage of youth and workers in our society is much higher than the percentage of the elderly and retirees, whose opposite again represents a major problem in other societies.

The important question here is: Is this gift being optimally made use of in all its dimensions?

The answer is no, despite some good utilisation.

In past decades, perhaps our benefit from the population gift was not a priority for several factors, including perhaps the fact that external aid from sister and friendly countries was seen as sufficient for our pressing needs, and that there were then major political conditions and challenges that may have made resources and the economy a secondary concern.

Today, however, the economic concern is our primary concern, and we must employ all of our capabilities and resources to enable ourselves to overcome difficulties and achieve the desired leap.

From now on, therefore, it is necessary to take action to employ the available human resources in a more effective and efficient manner. This includes, among other things, building on the vision outlined in the National Strategy for Human Resource Development, which can be modified in light of emerging developments, along with the recommendations of the Royal Committee for Modernising the Economic System. This combined vision, resulting from the Strategy and the Committee’s recommendations, should guide our efforts in the coming few years.

Additionally, it is necessary to make a real impact by connecting the outcomes of higher education academic programmes with the needs of the job market. The goal here should be dual, not single, meaning that the programmes should aid graduates in finding suitable employment while also generating jobs in the market. Perhaps the latter dimension is the more important of the two.

Furthermore, it is important to modify the learning outcomes of individual courses within the various academic programmes, in both school and higher education, to enable students to possess the appropriate modern skills necessary for finding and generating jobs. Among the most important of these skills are those related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and artificial intelligence, including entrepreneurship, innovation, design and the technical skills necessary for the success of any startup project.

Finally, wealth emanating from human resources, like any wealth emanating from other resources, requires care, focus, planning and precise execution in order for us to reap its utmost benefits.

While we have already harvested some of its benefits in the past and at present, and since we have proof of the effectiveness and distinction of our human resources, based on the testimony of all regional and international employers, it is now time to make it a top priority to make the best of our human resources, which we believe is probably our most important asset.