A LONG CAREER ROAD AHEAD

Mohamed Ameen

It’s known that in Iraq, societal traditions and family pressure state that if you don’t have a public sector job, your life will be worse, you will not be independent, you won’t get married and support your family.

In addition to that, the north star metric for families is becoming a doctor or having a job in the medical field because that’s where you will make the most money.

This has killed any other career and future perspectives. The majority of college students, even if they don’t like the medical field, will look at it as a priority. They will then justify their choice as “I do like being a doctor.” after years of instilling the concept of “if you are not a doctor, you won’t be successful.”

On the other hand, the current workforce situation in Iraq is far from ideal. According to the World Bank, the total unemployment rate (% as a percentage of the total labor force) in Iraq was 14.2% in 2021. The majority of the unemployed are young people; in comparison to the international unemployment rate of 16%, youth unemployment is approximately 36% (2016).

Iraq has one of the youngest populations in the world. Nearly 50% of Iraqis are younger than 19 years old, and 60% are below 25 years old. The majority of those people are seeking public sector jobs.

WE ARE LEFT WITH TWO CHOICES

Firstly, forcing the government to deliver public sector jobs to everyone and having widespread underemployment where everyone will work for a few minutes a day, finishing around 2-3 pm, waiting until they hit the age of retirement and waiting for paychecks from social security. Or alternatively, see what’s there in life, and explore what the private sector is and what this sector can do. Many other things to consider: how to be there, what roles to have, and what opportunities to take.

Furthermore, a public sector job, even if it’s not in the medical field, is set to be a lifetime achievement in Iraq. There is a myriad of reasons why people are prefer public sector jobs over private-sector ones, such as: Job security is one of the main reasons for preferring the public sector because employees will have a pension plan related to their years of service and their careers. While the private sector has foggy and unused terms, the guarantee is not the same as the public sector job. Public sector job is a waiting game. You spend your time waiting to get employed in a certain ministry or department. While in the private sector, you need to develop soft and hard skills, build a personal resume, apply to many jobs, and be proactive.

It’s almost impossible to get fired from a public sector job, and that creates an atmosphere of self-relief no matter what happens. While in the private sector, self-discipline and continuous development are required to climb the ladder and to keep the atmosphere green as much as possible. Public sector jobs don’t have deep and vertical specializations; much of the work is set to be “paperwork” to perform certain tasks, which creates an evenly distributed quality and that leads to underemployment.

Although public sector salaries and pay are much less than in the private sector, the mentioned issues and many more, put the public sector in a preferable situation.

The youth must look at the other opportunities regarding their work, and seize the opportunity of the growth that’s happening in the private sector and private businesses because many job opportunities are in demand every day. Their turn now is to learn during their college life what they can do to pursue certain jobs and careers and build their blocks to be ready for the opportunities that they encounter during their early life.

theMetro is the first project from The Station that focuses solely on university students to mitigate the impact of a few problems that the youth and college students face with three main pillars: Spreading awareness about the private sector, career readiness, building capacities through continuous workshops, events, and training, and building a network of students. With a vision to inspire the students to turn their passions, abilities, skills, and strengths into successful careers and lives.

Building a collaborative network and empowering the students to start their early life of private sector engagement during college. By learning the principles of private sector roles, skills, knowledge, and requirements. And how to prepare themselves to devise their passion and look forward to more opportunities.

The next stop for theMetro is preparing the youth for a healthy private sector career.