KUWAIT: It is almost certain that the government will start increasing the number of Kuwaitis in the private sector jobs, after receiving a special study that was prepared by the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) in this regard. The actual implementation is waiting for the national designation of the country's economic activities by Commerce and Industry Ministry, so that the minimum percentage of the number of Kuwaitis in each sector can be decided, and each entity must commit to employing citizens at the required percentages.

Official sources said the economic committee at the Council of Ministers gave a special importance for increasing the number of Kuwaitis in the non-government sectors. The aim is to implement the replacement policies in the private sector and to reduce the number of expats. The government has succeeded in the Kuwaitization policy in the banking and communication sectors - replacing 80 percent with Kuwaitis.

Meanwhile, it is looking at increasing the number of Kuwaitis in the insurance sector. The government plans to replace the foreign workers and employ at least 3,000 Kuwaitis in the next two years. Sources said the increase of Kuwaitis employment in the insurance sector, in particular, was discussed by Commerce and Industry ministry and insurance companies union. The ministry expressed disappointment for the small number of Kuwaiti employees. The union approved the decision, provided the Kuwaitis are qualified for the jobs.

Sources said "the decision to amend percentage of employing Kuwaitis in the private sector will be issued before the end of the year and may create hundreds of job opportunities for Kuwaitis. It is worth mentioning that the manpower in the public and private sectors in Kuwait currently has more than two million Kuwaitis and non-Kuwaitis - and 33 percent of these staff is in the government sector.