KRG works to enhance vocational education, says minister

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) ninth cabinet has worked towards enhancing vocational education in a bid to align the markets’ expectations with the current educational level, a minister said on Sunday.

KRG Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Aram Qadir made the remarks during a symposium focusing on vocational education and information technology in Erbil.

“Since the inception of KRG ninth cabinet, we have worked at the international level to enhance vocational education in a bid to slash reliance on foreign workforce,” Minister Qadir said.

The Kurdish official said his ministry is currently working on organizing a conference aimed at launching a wide-ranging reform in the higher education sector in a bid to align the workforce markets’ expectations with the educational materials that are taught to students.

Market leaders have previously complained that the essential skills that are needed in the current market do not match with those that are held by fresh graduates, calling for closer cooperation between the two sides to fill that gap.

To provide more job opportunities for the local workforce and reduce reliance on foreign workers, the KRG has ramped up efforts to strengthen its education sector which would equip graduates with much-needed skills in the market.

Thousands of graduates annually seek job opportunities in the Kurdistan Region market, which it has equally been accessible to foreign workers, including those from the US, Europe, and regional countries.

Vocational education focuses on equipping graduates with labor-market-relevant vocational qualifications acknowledged as occupationally oriented by the relevant national authorities and/or the labor market, according to the United Nations Education and Cultural Agency, known by its acronym UNESCO.