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Kurdistan careers conference aims to help job seekers

SAT, 30 JUN 2012 15:04 | Rudaw

By WLADIMIR van WILGENBURG

London, England - The Kurdistan Careers Conference 2012 -- to be held Aug. 28- Sept. 1 in Erbil and Slemani - will be the first event for Iraqi job seekers in the Kurdistan Region.

Amanj S. Yarwaessi, the conference’s general coordinator, told Rudaw that the idea for the conference came to him after returning to Kurdistan in 2009 to find work.

“I found it difficult to get information on job opportunities as there were no recruitment agencies or government employment centers as you have in other countries,” Yarwaessi said.

Although the situation is better now with the increase in business and inflow of foreign companies, the number of recruitment websites is still limited, and as a result looking for job opportunities can be difficult and time-consuming.

“There is still a big gap in the employment market and people that return from abroad are not aware of the information and may wait around for weeks or months trying to get at a job opportunity,” Yarwaessi said.

The conference is aimed at Iraqis both at home and abroad, as well as companies seeking skilled workers. So far, 110 people have registered, though 534 people signed up on the group’s Facebook page. Organizers said they are aiming for 200 jobseekers in Erbil and 200 in Slemani.

Azad Saleh, 22, a student from the Kurdistan Region, told Rudaw that it’s not easy for students as there are no websites or conferences for job seekers. “If the government created a website then every student could fill in the required papers,” Saleh suggested.

Another post-graduate student, Nabaz Shwany, 24, noted that companies do not pay much in Kurdistan. “Most of the companies offered less than $1,000 and I wasn’t ready to work for this amount of money,” he said.

Shwany added that students who do not know English or Arabic have difficulties finding jobs. “Even if they get work, it’s with a small salary and mostly in supermarkets and malls.”

In 2009, Erbil Regional Reconstruction Team (RRT) cables, released by WikiLeaks, noted that with half a population under 25, understanding the concerns of the so-called "1991 Generation" -- those born during or after the Kurdish Uprising – was key to understanding the Kurdistan Region's future.

The cable emphasized how students were worried about unemployment and complained about political interference by ruling parties when graduates were looking for jobs or being offered opportunities. As a result, many sought opportunities abroad or looked to the government for work.

The cable noted that 90 percent of callers to a youth radio program had questions or comments related to fears of unemployment.

Another issue was the small private sector, unable to absorb the “abundant supply of newly-minted university graduates,” the RRT mentioned.

According to Azad Barmerni, a consultant based in Erbil who returned to Iraq from the U.K. after graduation, it can be difficult for foreign companies to find appropriately qualified candidates in Kurdistan. “The job market in Erbil is very strong and there is a high turnover so employee retention can be difficult. The job market is presently in favor of the well-qualified employee,” he said.

He adds that fresh graduates “should have no major problems finding work but the salary may not meet their expectations.”

Yarwaessi says that companies can find the right people, but that the “work ethic and skill sets required in a competitive market are lacking in the local workforce.” According to him, this is the result of an education system that has suffered from 30 years of dictatorship, war and neglect.

“Foreign and local companies know this best, and although they can fill lower-level jobs with locals, jobs requiring higher skills are usually filled with foreigners or Iraqi Kurds and Arabs returning from abroad,” Yarwaessi notes.

Yarwaessi believes the establishment of English language schools such as the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani and the University of Kurdistan-Hawler has contributed to the skill market.

“These universities are putting a higher caliber graduate into the employment market,” he says. “But there is still room for improvement.”

According to Yarwaessi, the diaspora can bring the best value to companies in Kurdistan. “Iraqi Kurds and Arabs have a very large diaspora with many skilled professionals educated and brought up in more stable countries such as in Europe and North America. No real direct effort or policy has been put in place to bring these people back. They can offer something that neither foreign workers nor local people can.”

The RRT also noted a reverse brain-drain, with talented students and scholars returning to Kurdistan and taking jobs in the government and academia.

Yarwaessi says it can be difficult for those in the diaspora to find jobs, and this is in part what KCC2012 hopes to address. “Locals are in a better position than Kurds and Iraqis living abroad because they are based in the country and have daily access to information and developments. But even still, it is only this year that recruitment and job advertisement websites have become the norm.”

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