International Peer Reviewed Journal

Vol. 43 · January 2021 Print ISSN 2012-3981

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7719/jpair.v43i1.713 Online ISSN 2244-0445

The Changing Landscape of Human

Resource Management in a Qatarization
Environment: A Literature Review
RICHELLE BALBOA ARUGAY
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6845-9764
richelle.arugay@aspire.qa
Aspire Academy-Doha, Qatar

Originality: 100% • Grammar Check: 98% • Plagiarism: 0%

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

ABSTRACT

Qatarization is Qatar’s long-term human development strategy. From this

agenda, the research covers public policies and reports to review how Qatarization
is derived as a development strategy. The study attempts to answer the research
question: “what is the role of Qatarization in facilitating human development?” The
author posits that understanding the concept of Qatarization at an organizational
level is significant in the implementation to support Qatar’s human development
strategies. Following an integrative literature review, the paper scans literature
on Qatarization practices in the country with a relatively high proportion of
migrant workers due to its small native population. Although the current
practices of workforce localization vary in general and the implementation is
relatively inadequate, it is asserted that Qatarization has immense potential in
facilitating the human capital development of the country. Therefore, Qatar
needs to strategize upon institutionalization of Qatarization to realize the goals of
building a knowledgeable and motivated workforce through HRD. Conceding
that research on Qatarization in the context of HRM is less explored. This study
is a significant contribution to the existing literature pertaining to the roll-out of
workforce localization in developing countries.
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Keywords — Qatarization, human resource, HRD, workforce localization,

human capital, migrant workers, literature review, Middle East

INTRODUCTION

In most developing countries, the terms “nationalization,” “localization,” or

“workforce localization,” which are used interchangeably, is primarily referred to
in the literature as a strategy of a host country to develop its labor force to increase
the participation of the citizens and to replace migrant or expatriate workers with
host country staff. Workforce localization in GCC has raised interests to scholars
considering the proportion of the workforce where there is an extremely high
number of expatriates than the minority local citizens in terms of population
(Waxin, Lindsay, Belkhodja & Zhaol, 2018)a key emerging market, where, in
many cases, local citizens are the minority in terms of population, and compete
with high numbers of expatriate employees for jobs and positions. The purposes
of this paper are to empirically explore recruitment and selection (R&S. In Qatar,
workforce localization is termed as “Qatarization.” The localization concept was
first introduced about two decades ago to the GCC member countries, which
includes Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar
(Waxin & Bateman, 2015). It involved the initial proposition of implementing
workforce localization to large organizations, particularly in the oil and gas sector
that is considered the economies of scale for the oil-rich region (Al-Horr, 2011). It
was further employed during the inception of new businesses within GCC, where
workforce localization or nationalization plan formation is necessitated (Waxin
& Bateman, 2015). As Haak-Saheem, Festing, & Darwish (2017) described, the
existing literature on institutions suggests that MNEs are under influence and
pressure to adopt HR practices that are viewed as appropriate for the context
and situation. However, the implementation of localization had complicated the
staffing in the region due to some techniques and organizational practices that
were utilized, which were mostly believed to be deficient (Waxin et al., 2018a key
emerging market, where, in many cases, local citizens are the minority in terms
of population, and compete with high numbers of expatriate employees for jobs
and positions. The purposes of this paper are to empirically explore recruitment
and selection (R&S). For example, quotas, generous government incentives, and
other organizational measures like policy immunities and a special allocation
of allowances and benefits were placed to retain the national employees, which
help employers achieve or maintain a target percentage of employed nationals at
any given time to comply with the government directives on localization. With
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this context, it is considered, therefore, that the substantial definition which

constitutes the effectiveness of workforce localization was lacking at the onset
to distinguish its prime objective as a country’s strategy for human development
(Al-Homsi, 2016; Williams, Bhanugopan, & Fish, 2011).
Qatar is one of the world’s most important oil and gas producers, which is
the main reason for the country’s ranking as one of the highest incomes per capita
in the world. Since the discovery of Qatar’s richness in natural gas resources in
1973, the country has continuously attracted job-seekers worldwide for its robust
economy. The annual growth rate of population in the country was recorded
at 10% in the last decade, and in recent years Qatar has offered more than 1.5
million jobs to expatriates, which resulted in an increase of up to 16% growth
annually that is mostly accredited to the preparations for the 2022 Football
World Cup and other major projects. The country is then confronted with the
challenge of rapid population growth due to the continued influx of migrant
workers. Qatar statistics show that in 2019 Qataris are taking only 30% of the
2.7 million total population, while migrants comprise the majority at 70%. A
significant fraction is also presented in terms of the labor force, where there is a
relatively high proportion of expatriate workers at 90% and the remaining 10%
of the Qatari workforce asserting a very low record of the unemployment rate at
0.1% in 2019. With the small size of the indigenous human capital, the extreme
dependence on migrant workers, therefore, cannot be avoided (Al-Horr, 2011).
In 2008, the Qatar National Vision (QNV2030) was launched, and the
country’s General Secretariat for Development Planning (GSDP) was tasked
to coordinate all programs relative to the implementation and achievement
of the national vision. As published by GSDP, QNV2030 is described as “a
comprehensive development agenda with the central aim of transforming Qatar
into an advanced country by 2030 capable of sustaining its own development
and providing for a high standard of living for all of its people for generations to
come.” QNV2030 rests on four pillars which they have to work collectively
with the Qatari people: Human Development, Social Development, Economic
Development, and Environmental Development. ‘Human Development’ refers
to the development of all its people to enable them to sustain a prosperous society;
‘Social Development’ pillar refers to the development of a just and caring society
based on high moral standards and capable of playing a significant role in the
global partnership for development; ‘Economic Development’ pillar refers to the
development of a competitive and diversified economy capable of meeting the
needs of and securing a high standard of living for all its people for the present
and future generations; and, ‘Environmental Development’ which involves the
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management of the environment such that there is harmony between economic

growth, social development, and environmental protection.
Through the four pillars of development, the government tackles the five
major challenges that Qatar is facing with the rapid economic growth, which
includes: (1) modernization and preservation of traditions; (2) the needs of the
existing generation and the needs of future generations; (3) managed growth
and uncontrolled expansion; (4) the size and the quality of the expatriate labor
force and the selected path of development; and, (5) economic growth, social
development, and environmental management (as published by GSDP in 2008).
Of the five major challenges, the resolution for the first four major issues is
directed under the Human Development pillar by providing a comprehensive
and integrated healthcare system, quality education and training, and an efficient
and committed workforce. Focusing on this agenda, the research discussed
public policies and government reports to review how Qatarization is derived
as a strategic human development investment of the country in line with the
national vision.
QNV2030 provides a framework to which Qatar’s national strategies and
implementation plans can be developed through the National Development
Strategy (NDS) that essentially addresses the interactive relationship between
population and development to pursue its main outcome of “…a competitive
labor market that enables Qatar’s population to participate in the development,
build a prosperous society and meet the needs of the current generation without
compromising those of future generations through effective participation in
the labor force, achieving high productivity, attracting and maintaining highly
skilled labor, and a modern and transparent information system that provides
data on both the supply and demand sides of recruitment and training” (NDS).

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework for Human Development through NDS

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Qatar’s vision to transform into a knowledge-based society is already in the

process of implementing its plans (Gremm, Barth, Fietkiewicz, & Stock, 2018).
These plans are being supervised by the Ministry of Development Planning and
Statistics (MDPS) through NDS to achieve the main outcome of a knowledge
economy and to foster education and training among Qataris to ensure their
active participation to the objective of Qatarization. Among the organizations
that support the development of the knowledge economy is the Qatar Foundation
(QF), a non-profit organization that has established many different programs
with cutting-edge facilities in education, research, and community development
that is in line with the objectives of the national strategy (Gremm et al., 2018).
Furthermore, to achieve the transformation, the NDS pursues to further develop
and improve the educational services to meet the needs of the labor market by
providing educational opportunities, developing curricula to keep up with global
scientific and technical developments that are aligned with the requirements
of the local labor market, and enhancing the productivity of the national labor
force in conjunction with the highly qualified expatriate workers. The energy
sector is one of the biggest employers of nationals with an overall goal of 50%
Qatarization in permanent established positions where they offer educational
sponsorships, excellent development programs, provide great rewards for good
contributors, and develop talented and competent Qataris into leadership roles
to meet their desired goals which translate to a capable and motivated workforce.
In summary, the outcome will be a labor market that encourages investment in
human capital development. This labor market that provides skilled expatriate
labor with high labor productivity, and a labor market governance that ensures
meeting current and future needs.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To answer the research question: “what is the role of Qatarization in facilitating

human resource development?,” the study aims to understand the framework
that confers the critical role of the country’s human capital and HRM to achieve
Qatar’s vision through Qatarization and to present a comprehensive review of
literature on the concept of Qatarization and the complexity of implementing
a localization program in a developing country through organizational human
resource development (HRD).
The research is anchored on human capital investment theory. It reflects
similar principles with Qatar’s national vision, confirming that economic and
social development performance depends heavily on human capital (Matei &
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Ceche, 2018). With the rapid growth of its economy, the reliable supply and
strategic use of high-quality talent are critical considering that the national vision
aspires to a greater economic role of Qataris and talents of the highly-skilled
expatriates, which will lead to better and more active workforce participation
(Forstenlechner, 2009). Scholars define human capital with similar fundamental
principles of education and training from which knowledge, skills, and abilities
derive (Table 1), and the principles of a human capital theory, which present an
important insight where higher education relates to higher earnings (Gonzalez,
2008). Several related opinions were aggregated by Nafukho, Hairston, and
Brooks (2004), which conveyed that the main outcome from investment in
people is the change that is manifested at the individual level in the form of
improved performance, at the organizational level in the form of improved
productivity and profitability, or at the societal level in the form of returns that
benefit the entire society.

Table 1. Definitions of Human Capital

Author Year Definition
Schultz 1982 All human abilities to be either innate or acquired. At-
tributes that are valuable and can be augmented by appro-
priate investment will be human capital
Bontis & Fitz‐enz 2002 The human factor in the organization; the combined in-
telligence, skills, and expertise that gives the organization
its distinctive character.
Matei & Ceche 2018 consists of educational capital (skills acquired by individu-
als in the process of schooling, but also outside it) and
biological capital (physical abilities of individuals, synthe-
sized, most often through the state of health)
Pegram et al. 2018 embodied knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes
of employees that can be put to productive use

Researchers highlight human capital as a strategic resource that could help

achieve a competitive advantage and high-performance (Boon, Eckardt, Lepak,
& Boselie, 2018). The notion of net economic benefits relates to the difference
between the economic value created from human capital and the cost of the
human capital resources (Chadwick, 2017). According to Bae & Patterson
(2014), the relationship of education to earnings can result in the classification
of the implications of human capital theory at the individual, organization, and
country levels wherein the individual level refers to the basic supply-side which
represents the individual data that comprise the supply of labor market, the

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organization level which refers to the demand-side which takes into account the
analysis of firm related phenomena such as productivity, investment, turnover,
etc., and a more comprehensive perspective at the country level which refers
to both supply- and demand-side that are essential considerations in national
policymaking (Table 2). Moreover, Bae & Patterson (2014) emphasize that to
benefit from human capital, individuals should increase learning to elevate their
value in the labor market, for the organizational level where human resource
development professionals have the control in the process to implement a more
efficient utilization of training and development with improved job performance
that realizes the outcome of the investment activities, and at the country level for
the government policymakers to provide a wider scope for considering the extent
to which policies can provide more efficient and equitable use of human resources,
such as education reform, government training policy, equal employment
opportunity legislation, affirmative action, and pay equity arrangements.

Table 2. Comparison of Human Capital by Each Level of Analysis

Level Investment Considerations HRD Role
Decision
Type of HC Costs Returns Risks Perspectives
Country Schooling ↔ Subsidy, Economic Under- or Policy Coordi-
Training Loans Development Over-invest- nation, Equal-
(GDP, etc.) ment ity (EEO, AA,
etc.)
Organization General Training Organization- Turnover Performance,
↔Specific Costs al Productiv- Profit Maxi-
Training ity, Financial mization
Returns, etc.
Individual Schooling Direct Pay Increase, Unemploy- Self- develop-
↔ Training Costs, Employabil- ment ment, Self-
Opportu- ity, Job Satis- actualization
nity Costs faction, etc.

Source: Bae, S., & Patterson, L. (2014). Comparison and Implications of Human Capital
Theory at the Individual, Organization, and Country Levels

METHODOLOGY

The study adopts an integrative literature review as its research approach wherein
available primary and secondary sources relative to Qatarization are identified,
analyzed, and synthesized into a model that offers the perspective on Qatarization as

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a human resource development strategy. Public policies and government reports were
reviewed to examine how Qatarization is derived as a strategic human development
investment of the State of Qatar and a review of literature on HRM and HRD
related studies within Qatar and the GCC region were selected to examine the
various workforce localization practices in countries with a relatively high proportion
of migrant workers due to its small indigenous population.
The author utilized research databases available through Google Scholar
and several on-line resources utilizing the following criteria that helped define
and narrow the search: (1) studies on Qatarization and workforce localization
(2) country-specific and cross-national studies relating to workforce localization
practices as integrated within the HRD functions. To filter the search, specific
strings or keywords were used, such as “Qatarization,” “HRD,” and “workforce
localization,” utilizing Boolean words “AND” and “OR” to further narrow the
result. Selected journal articles on international HRD, business, and management
were tapped and retrieved from various publications such as Proquest, SAGE,
Emerald, Wiley, Elsevier, etc., to provide the desired rigor to the literature analysis.
Zotero was used as Bibliographic Database Manager (BDM) to electronically
organize and keep track of the references and manage citations and automated
bibliography processing.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Although varying definitions of workforce localization is present in the

literature (Table 3), the phenomenon derives from the process of replacing non-
nationals or expatriates with host country staff to increase the national workforce’s
participation.

Table 3. Definitions of Workforce Localization

Author Year Definition
Potter 1989 when a local national is filling a required job sufficiently
competently to fulfill organizational needs
Bhanugopan & 2007 a program to replace expatriates with host country staff following
Fish a period of staff development
Forstenlechner 2009 a program designed to foster the participation of citizens in the
workforce
Hickey 2017 getting local citizens to do the jobs that are held by many foreign
expatriates in a host country
Pegram et al. 2018 process of replacing expatriate workers with locals of the host
country

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Al-Horr, (2011) suggests that the two major external aspects that affect
strategic planning and policy formulation regarding localizing the workforce
at the macro-level are the population’s growth and structure and the other the
educational system. According to his findings, the demographic elements of
the population and the low participation of Qatari nationals in the labor force
(about 10%), especially in the non-government sector, seem to be correlated
to the fact that there is only a small indigenous population and, therefore, a
significant non-national population, with 30% Qataris and 70% non-Qataris
based on 2019 statistics report. Therefore, with the given data, Al-Horr (2011)
concludes that it would not be possible to implement a social and economic
development plan without foreign labor. With regards to the educational system,
it has a direct and negative influence on the efficiency and effectiveness of such a
process. Furthermore, the overall formation of the Qatari human capital might
not be well utilized in the country if the government will fail to provide the
different sectors of the economy with a qualified national workforce in terms of
an ‘adequate’ level of general or technical skills that are in line with the demand
of the labor market. To avoid this, the NDS is transforming the country into
a diversified knowledge economy by re-balancing the labor market structure,
increasing work efficiency in different sectors, developing the capacities of
Qataris, especially highly-educated women, attracting and retaining skilled and
highly experienced workers, developing labor legislation, and improving the
labor market information system.
Each country is unique, with varying socio-economic status and rate of
progression and development. The perspective of localization at the country-
level comprehensively approaches individuals and organizations to support the
government policies in the interest of developing its human capital (Hickey,
2017). Although workforce localization strategies vary from country to country,
they all involve key HRM activities, such as recruitment and selection, training
and development, career management, performance, and compensation policies
for local employees (Waxin et al., 2018)a key emerging market, where, in many
cases, local citizens are the minority in terms of population, and compete with
high numbers of expatriate employees for jobs and positions. The purposes of this
paper are to empirically explore recruitment and selection (R&S. In the study
of Storberg-Walker, (2004), the human capital transformation findings were the
result of creating the theory of human capital transformation through HRD of
which he suggested that the transformation is embedded in the organizational
processes.

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HRM and Qatarization

The international HR management (IHRM) encompasses the design and
organizational HR practices in a cross-cultural context (Waxin et al., 2018; Vance
& Paik, 2014; Björkman & Stahl, 2006), and it describes that mainstream HR
varies in different countries and regions (Budhwar, Pereira, Mellahi, & Singh,
2019; Haak-Saheem et al., 2017) depending on the socio-economic, cultural and
political factors that shape the organization to where it is geographically situated
(Bratton & Gold, 2017). Qatarization is Qatar’s strategy of long-term investment
in human capital that primarily aims to develop and motivate its nationals to
occupy responsible and key positions (Riaz & Ishaq, 2016) within the public
and private sectors through education and training pathways (QNV2030).
The concerted effort of Qatarization in the energy sector with an overall goal
of 50% Qatarization in permanent established positions contributes to the
concentration of the Qatari employment in the public sector, engaging about
90% of economically active nationals. Strategies for managing human resources,
therefore, have a vital role to play in ensuring that public sector agencies have the
capacity to address the needs of the communities they serve and to consistently
achieve high standards of service, and the effectiveness of these services rests
heavily on the knowledge, skill, and drive of the national employees (Burke,
Allisey, & Noblet, 2013). The evaluation of the implementation of localization
strategy shows that there are three approaches toward what may be called
‘Qatarization,’ namely, strategic adaptation, pragmatic acceptance, and implicit
avoidance, wherein such approaches are strongly associated with understanding
the policy aims and linking the policy to HR practices (Al-Horr, 2011).

Human Resource Development

To put it into perspective, HRD is complementary to HRM, which focuses
on putting the right person for the job, whereas HRD emphasizes developing
both the employees and their organizational context (Poell, 2007). Storberg-
Walker (2004) also affirms in his study that the human capital transformation is
represented by HRD, which is embedded within the organizational process, and
it further recognizes that the human capital needs of countries change over time
with the increasing global competitiveness and the advent of new technology
which emphasizes the importance of continues learning among individuals.
While individuals may derive their own motivation to pursue education and
learning (Riaz & Ishaq, 2016), organizations in the context of HRM sustain
the development through employment and retention of the national workforce,

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which are effectively resolved through HRD interventions that facilitate attractive
remuneration package, further education, and continuous learning or on-the-job-
training and progressive career development. Conversely, the same factors were
perceived to hinder workforce localization practices according to Bhanugopan
and Fish (2007a) since results in their study suggest that a significant number
of managers identify the mainstream HRD functions as prevailing obstacles,
including recruitment and selection, local staff performance, lack of training and
development, and compensation.
HRD encompasses a longer-term effort to prepare individuals to succeed
at work, and it essentially fills the performance gaps in knowledge, skills, and
attitudes to get to internationally accepted human performance standards
(Hickey, 2017). The existing literature establishes strong links between HRD
and human capital since Human Capital Theory argues that investing in
people makes them productive, while HRD also advocates improved workforce
development through investment in education and training. As such, Nafukho
et al. (2004) believe that both education and training are key contributors to the
knowledge economy and that HRM practices such as selective staffing, training,
and high-compensation systems are positively related to a firm’s level of human
capital, and in turn, human capital mediates the relationship between high-
level HRM practices and the organization’s innovative capabilities. However,
according to Storberg-Walker (2004), organizations are still facing the challenge
of developing and managing their talent for sustained performance during times
of constant change. In her study, both training and development and organization
development are considered the transformative motors fueled by human
capital that generate sustained organizational success to a knowledge economy.
Therefore, HRM, management scholars, sociology, public policy, and political
science are some of the disciplines interested in understanding how organizations
create new ideas and build a sustainable human resource that performs and learn
together over time to reach common goals, with labor policies and practices that
are aligned to government strategies which can impact the attitudes, behaviors,
and performance of the workforce.
According to Nair and Laurencin (2007), the concept and definition of
HRD in developing countries are still evolving as the economy grows. They
suggest that in the State of Qatar, HRD is viewed as a process of preparing and
developing the workforce congruent to organizational and governmental goals
and objectives. HRD is about human development towards achieving smarter
and more innovative people who can work efficiently and effectively in any job

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or organizational setting in a given society through training cycles, succession

planning, career planning, work competencies, and coaching/mentoring (Hickey,
2017). With Qatarization, the principle of localization puts more weight on
attracting, developing, motivating, and retaining a competent and high caliber
Qatari workforce to perform better and achieve leadership roles in the future.
Human capital resources are characterized by the knowledge, skills, abilities, and
other characteristics of resources that could be developed and enhanced through
training and other developmental programs using either the training cycle or
competency-development methods to achieve results.
Recruitment & Selection. The unique characteristic of Qatar is the
demographic setting where the national population comprises only about 30%
of the total 2.7M populace and only 5% share of the Qatari workforce out of the
2.11M total size of the nation’s labor force. By the numbers, the 2019 Statistics
from PSA shows that the unemployment population consists of 225 Qataris
who are fresh graduates coupled with 60 Qatari unemployed individuals who
are seeking employment, thereby recording a very low unemployment rate of less
than 0.1%, which is one of the lowest unemployment rating recorded globally.
With the energy sector like Qatar Petroleum and its associate subsidiaries leading
the implementation of Qatarization with a target of hiring and retaining at least
50% Qataris within their workforce, it would mean that the other sectors and
industries can only rely on hiring mostly expatriates to fill the job demands.
It is clear, therefore, that the general concept of localization wherein the local
workforce is filling the jobs is not applicable with Qatarization (Potter, 1989).
Furthermore, the challenge of recruiting nationals is twofold: first, the companies
will be sourcing for Qatari candidates for job placement out from the limited
pool of inexperienced fresh graduates and Qatari job seekers (unemployed), and
from Qataris who are employed however exploring for better opportunities.
Secondly, attracting Qatari potentials who are currently employed by offering
better opportunities could possibly alter the organizational commitment of
the individual resulting from the decision to transfer from one government
company to another in which case does not contribute to the objective of
increasing workforce participation and would have a negative impact in the case
of disrupting an established training plan in a specified industry except if the new
appointment is intended for a higher-level post with more responsibility that
stays in line to the career development plan or succession plan.
Since the context of implementing Qatarization within the framework of
HRD is underexplored, the author extends to reflect in the available literature

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that focuses on another GCC country (Forstenlechner, 2009), the United Arab
Emirates (UAE), which mirrors the demographic characteristics of Qatar closer
than other GCC countries. Similarly, UAE is in the quest of localizing the job
market through its own workforce localization program called Emiratization since
the localization concept was first introduced to GCC in the year 2000. In his
study, Forstenlechner (2009) discusses the practical implications of localization
relative to the mainstream HR functions within the oil and gas companies in the
UAE. Since there is no existing standard to operationalize workforce localization
process, the HR practice in recruitment and selection follows the rationale of
prioritizing the local citizens during recruitment and selection and put forth
hiring strategies and programs that would attract local candidates to respond
to job vacancy advertisements or to participate in job fairs that are intended to
offer opportunities to nationals only (Al-Emadi & Marquardt, 2007). However,
Potter (1989) emphasizes that “Effective localization has occurred when a local
national is filling a required job sufficiently competently to fulfill organizational
needs “such that successful recruitment and selection exercises depend on hiring
the right candidate with the proper match to the job vacancy and there is
suitability on his or her qualifications, experience, ability, and personal attributes
or competencies.
Compensation & Benefits. The implementation of workforce localization
in GCC countries entails higher costs, unlike with other developing countries
such as China because the compensation packages for local workers in GCC
are typically much higher than the compensation packages offered to expatriates
(Wong & Law, 1999). With over 90% of Qataris that are directly and indirectly
engaged with the public sector, the compensation package for Qataris as it is
linked to pay levels across government companies are generally higher than the
salaries of expatriates in addition to cost benefits such as housing and education
allowances, social allowance for pension benefits, with full expense paid travel
entitlements during leave vacation depending on the civil status of the Qatari
employee. Therefore, Qataris prefer the public sector in almost all cases because
the work is less stressful and less challenging, with higher pay and flexible working
times, which are more comfortable and highly convenient (Gremm et al., 2018).
Training & Development. The principle of human capital investment theory
considers human resources as valued assets and not merely a commoditized labor
cost. In the economic context of human capital, higher education/skill is related
to higher income (Schultz, 1982). Therefore, investing in the development
of human capital in terms of increasing knowledge and enhancing skills and

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attributes of the workforce through various training and development methods

are acceptable essential investments (Hickey, 2017).
The T&D process involves assessing and identifying knowledge and skills
gaps in technical and behavioral aspects in terms of job competencies with the
benchmark of best practice standard and resolving to close any gap to perform
and deliver the desired level of job performance through the remedy of education
(i.e., scholarship, internship) and training (i.e., on-the-job, job shadowing).
According to Hailey (1993), a key element in the localization process as with
Qatarization is the increased investment in accelerated programs of management
training for a new generation of managers and leaders, including the potential
high-performing individuals as exemplified during their academic attendance in
schools and universities. A training evaluation system should be in place to validate
the usefulness of the training since the success of a career development plan is
dependent on the effectiveness of training intervention along the process (Khan,
Rajasekar, & Al-Asfour, 2015). Human capital investment allocation should be
appropriately provided to promote and stimulate life-long learning among these
high potential performers that could be designated the next or second generation
of local managers. During the process, expatriates and (expatriate knowledge
experts) consultants continue to play a significant role in both the public and
private sectors of many developing countries (Hailey, 1993).
Career Development. The organizational career development practices
gather more attention in HR literature with the significant role it plays in the
workforce localization initiatives, especially in GCC countries (Khan et al.,
2015). Hickey (2017) argues that HRD is merely a mechanism or a tool to
succeed with any localization effort. In his study, he emphasizes the importance
of empowerment and available opportunity for career growth when people are
trained for and can do the job to acceptable international standards, which is the
core of effectiveness in work performance. Therefore, an effective organizational
career development program needs to reflect the organizational realities and
needs to be perceived as appropriate by employees to provide them a genuine
opportunity to learn and grow (Khan et al., 2015). Companies must recognize
their long-term career aspirations to satisfy their development needs in managing
the local human resource. Attractive compensation packages may not be
necessary and not sufficient to retain them; however, training and development
opportunities, internal promotion, and career prospects, in the long run, could
be the key factors (Wong & Law, 1999).

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Career development must add value to the firm’s organizational resources

and form a substantial part of the HR strategy and talent management initiative.
Talent management has taken center stage in human resource management, and
it has become highly relevant in the context of workforce localization, especially
in organizations in GCC countries that aim to retain talent and fill high-level
and critical roles from the internal talents to open promotion opportunities.
An active localization program provides good prospects for advancement since
professional growth and career advancement are important concerns, especially
for young Qatari workers at entry-level or fresh graduates, and dissatisfaction
with opportunities to advance is one of the most frequently cited reasons for
turnover (Budhwar et al., 2019; Al-Asfour & Khan, 2014).
Succession Planning. According to Aldulaimi (2017), the essential
objectives of succession planning and leadership development supports the
designation of the right person for the job. Aldulaimi (2017) further suggests that
technical skills training alone is not enough to develop future leaders. Knowing
when positions could possibly become vacant allows internal candidates to plan
their career path development and avail themselves of better opportunities in the
future. In some companies, upon the nomination of a local to assume a position
of an expatriate, a succession plan normally takes place within a three to five year
period (Hailey, 1993). As Potter (1989) emphasizes, “Effective localization has
occurred when a local national is filling a required job sufficiently competently to
fulfill organizational needs.”

CONCLUSIONS

The study sought to address the role of Qatarization in facilitating human

development. Qatarization as a long-term human development strategy is derived
from the framework of human capital, which is, on the one hand, transformed
through HRM as it primarily controls the labor market conditions through the
organizational factors (such as HR practices and policies) and individual factors
(such as personality traits and abilities), and on the other hand, strategically related
to labor markets which have important implications on the country’s performance
(Figure 2). Qatarization, as it relates to human capital, carries the challenge to
fully utilize the talents of its workforce, both Qataris and expatriates. Beyond
numbers, Qatarization is capitalizing on the full utilization and enhancement of
Qatari human capital while taking full advantage of acquiring the knowledge and
capabilities of the highly-skilled expatriates (Forstenlechner, 2009).

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Figure 2. Qatarization Process

It is critical to continuously and strategically address the human capital

constraints brought about by the limited number of Qatar’s population.
According to Gonzalez (2008), education, training, and labor market indicators
are important factors in diagnosing the nature of a country’s human resource as
can be described by specific demographics of the population, including labor
market indicators such as labor force participation, unemployment rates and the
sectoral composition of employment. The interrelationship among education,
training, and employment requires that sectoral policies and decisions be
coordinated, coherent, and integrated into the context of appropriate institutional
arrangements that would not only lead to human capital development and a
more efficient labor market but achieve the goals of QNV 2030 as a result of
the many inter-sectoral relations and efficient workforce sector strategy. These
factors are present and strengthened in Qatar, unlike other developing countries,
which have identified barriers to include state and federal policy, technological
limitations, and limited overall resources.

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