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Certain Policy Actions Will Improve the Labor Market

• New labor-market entrants will have much higher levels of education than people currently employed in the Kurdistan Region — Iraq.
• Employers value potential employees with customer-handling and communications skills, willingness to work hard, numeracy, English language skills, and practical technical experience.
• Employers depend mostly on local informal networks and connections to recruit employees, although large companies are more likely to use recruiting agencies and newspaper advertisements as well as hire from abroad to meet their employment needs.
• A modest share of employers provide training to their employees, and those that do provide training in practical, technical, and workplace skills including vocational or trade skills.
• The services sectors of construction; transport, storage, and communications; and wholesale and retail trade are likely to have above-average employment growth. Agriculture and selected manufacturing industries also show promise.
• Policymakers can take a number of steps to improve the labor market for the benefit of the private sector.

The study addresses the question of how the Kurdistan Regional Government can improve the private-sector labor market in the Kurdistan Region–Iraq (KRI). Doing so will involve creating mechanisms by which job-seekers can develop the right skills and find employers who will hire them, employers can find the employees they need, and the government can create an enabling environment in which the best matches between job-seekers and employers can be made. The study estimates the likely number and education levels of new job-seekers through 2020. It conducts an original, scientific survey to learn about employer perceptions of skill gaps in the KRI. Then, it investigates sectoral employment growth in comparison economies to identify promising growth sectors. Finally, it outlines policy steps for the government to take to improve the functioning of the private-sector labor market.

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Objective Analysis. Effective Solutions.