More than 1 in 4 Qataris (41 per cent) ranked ‘running my own business’ as their ideal job role, according to a new report.

Similar views of entrepreneurism as an ideal job role were reflected in Saudi Arabia (37 per cent) and Oman (34 per cent), however only 11 per cent of Emiratis surveyed viewed ‘running my own business’ as an ideal role, said the Oxford Strategic Consulting’s latest Qatar Employment Report: Insights for 2016.

The military served as the top job for Qataris, with 46 per cent of respondents considering a military role to be their ideal job.

This inclination toward entrepreneurism in Qatar can help to transition Saudis away from public sector roles and toward private sector enterprises. The report findings reveal the following innovative employment strategies for entrepreneurs and future private sector business leaders in Qatar:

Help Qatari entrepreneurs make money for themselves: The majority (58 per cent) of Qataris listed money as a top motivator, with helping the country/society (57 per cent) serving as the next closest motivator. Yet it is interesting that such a high percentage of Qataris consider entrepreneurism to be their ideal job role.

Rather than simply increase public and private sector wages, Oxford recommends that the government should provide additional, targeted support for budding Qatari entrepreneurs, including perhaps government employees themselves.

Focus on the 6 per cent of entrepreneurs who actually contribute to employment growth: In order to maximise the investment in entrepreneurism, high-potential entrepreneurs who actually contribute to employment growth, known as ‘Gazelles’, should be identified and supported by the government.

Providing seed funding and early support for these high-potential Qatari entrepreneurs is much more cost-effective than employing the equivalent public sector employees for an entire career. Oxford’s previous research has started to identify the key personal characteristics of these ‘Gazelles’.

Develop natural business leaders for private sector roles: A further 27 per cent of Qatari respondents considered the government / public sector to be their least favoured industry. While there remains a high demand for public sector roles, these findings suggest a growing constituency moving away from the public sector.

These Qataris should be groomed for private sector roles by receiving globally recognized professional qualifications, such as those from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). Defence and security (49 per cent), oil and gas (41 per cent) and banking and finance (29 per cent) also served as popular employment sectors for Qataris.

Listen to Qataris to create effective employment campaigns: Oxford believes that any employment campaign must take into account the actual employment preferences of Qatari job seekers. Here, Oxford’s report found that female nationals were significantly more pessimistic than males about the difficulty of getting a job. Moreover, Qatari women were three times more likely than men to consider ‘not knowing how to apply for a job’ as a significant difficulty when sourcing employment.

Oxford’s latest Saudi Arabia Employment Report findings were launched at a recent Gulf Talent Advisory Board (GTAB) Fellows’ Summit at the Four Seasons Hotel in Doha, Qatar.

GTAB is an elite professional network for HR leaders working on talent development issues across the GCC.

Oxford Strategic Consulting is an Oxford and GCC based consultancy that specialises in building human capital across the GCC and Europe. – TradeArabia News Service