As the government is on its feet in regulating the manpower in Kuwait to create more employment opportunities for nationals across various fields, it’s quite surprising to find out that there is still a huge gap between the number of Kuwaitis as opposed to foreign workers in the country.
Of course, no project becomes complete overnight, especially when it comes to manpower regulation in a country like Kuwait which has long benefited from the services of expats in various fields and professions for many years now.
Kuwait Workforce Welcomed 58,000 New Expats from Last Year
Statistics revealed an increase in the number of expats working in the private sector from June to December 2018, a drop by as much as 987 in this number in the government sector, as shared in a report by International Investment.
Based on this report, the figures also reveal that the total number of expats working in the country is at least at 2.38 million, with more than two-thirds of them working in the private sector, 648,000 as domestic helpers, and 123,000 working for the government.
Furthermore, the data also showed an increase in the number of citizens working for government bodies by as much as 7,687 in contrast to only 695 Kuwaitis in the private sector.
On the same note, the total number of Kuwaitis working in the private sector has reached 63,104 while those in the public sector are over 335,000.
Of note, the Gulf State is also making changes to the visa scheme of expatriates. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Lt-Gen Sheikh Khalid Al-Jarrah issued a decree to cancel residency stickers (iqama) that are placed in the passports of foreign nationals.
The said changes aim to put an end to the withholding or confiscation of foreign workers’ passports by sponsors, as this will no longer be required, as well as the preservation of papers in these travel documents.