Doha: HE Minister of Labour Dr. Ali bin Samikh Al Marri chaired on Tuesday the first meeting of the Workforce Planning Committee, with HE Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa, President of the Civil Service and Government Development Bureau and Secretary General of the National Planning Council, as Vice Chairman, along with other committee members. The committee includes representatives from various government ministries and agencies, such as Defence, Interior, Finance, Commerce, Education and Higher Education, Labour, Qatar Central Bank, Qatar Energy, the National Planning Council, and Civil Service and Government Development Bureau. During the meeting, the Workforce Planning Committee reviewed its principles and developed a work plan to ensure alignment with the Third National Development Strategy 2024-2030. This strategy focuses on enhancing labour market productivity by leveraging national talent with advanced skills, skilled expatriate workers, and increasing the national workforce in the private sector. T he Workforce Planning Committee was established by Cabinet Decision No. (4) on March 3, 2024. According to this decision, the committee is responsible for coordinating between government entities and the private sector for effective workforce planning. Its duties include addressing challenges, setting guidelines and future goals for employment in both sectors, evaluating educational achievements in the country, aligning them with current and future labor market needs, and examining and recommending factors that influence employment rates in government and key private sector economic fields. Qatar aims to enhance its workforce skills through recruitment policy reforms, new visas for entrepreneurs, students, and elite talent, encouraging the private sector to hire more Qataris in medium to high-skilled positions, launching national workforce development initiatives in partnership with private companies, and improving higher education to meet labor market demands, with a goal of achieving a 46 percent highly sk illed workforce. Source: Qatar News Agency