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Shatt Al-Arab District, Basra Governorate LABOUR MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES Shatt Al-Arab District, Basra Governorate IOM Iraq – May 2020 This programme is supported by: List of Acronyms BEP Business Expansion Package BSP Business Support Package CIP Community Implementation Plan CoC Chamber of Commerce CoI Chamber of Industries CRC Community Resource Centre ESP Employment Support Package FGD Focus Group Discussion FT Farming Training IDP Internally Displaced Person ISIL Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant IOM International Organization for Migration JP Job Placement LMA Labour Market Assessment NFI Non-Food Items MoLSA Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs OJT On-the-Job Training SME Small and Medium Enterprise VT Vocational Training IOM Disclaimer The opinions expressed in the report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the report do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IOM concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries. IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. As an intergovernmental organization, IOM acts with its partners in the international community to: assist in meeting the operational challenges of migration; advance understanding of migration issues; encourage social and economic development through migration; and uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants. © 2020 International Organization for Migration (IOM) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Acronyms 2 IOM Disclaimer 2 Table of Contents 3 Executive Summary 4 Study Introduction 6 Labour Market Assessment Overview District Overview Assessment and Methodology Overview Findings 8 Attitudes Towards Entrepreneurship and Cash Types of Jobs Available Skills Gaps Recruitment Mechanisms Supply-side Bottlenecks Demand-side Bottlenecks Conclusions 10 Labour Market Opportunities and Challenges EXECUTIVE SUMMARY IOM conducts livelihood programming in 15 out of 18 • The average salary for skilled workers is 221 United States governorates in Iraq. As part of the Returns and Recovery dollars (USD) and USD 131 for unskilled workers. Unit programming, the International Organization for • Women-owned businesses generally include livestock Migration (IOM) undertook a labour market assessment raising, tailoring, hairdressing, food preparation (especially (LMA) in Shatt Al-Arab from November of 2019 to February sweets), beauty salon services, retail in clothing and make 2020. up, in addition to jobs in agriculture and administration. All LMAs have been conducted in over 30 locations across Iraq these jobs were considered profitable with the exception and give insights on the state of the local market in a given of harvesting. area, the hiring preferences of employers and the available • However, women mostly do not contribute to household skills and aspirations of jobseekers, among others. income, with only four consumers mentioned they do. STUDY COMPONENTS • Workshop participants mentioned that skills in farming were needed. Jobseekers, on the other hand, mentioned LMAs consist of both qualitative and quantitative exercises: that no specific sector had difficulty in finding adequately Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), multisectoral community trained employees. Farmers mentioned that it was not workshops and surveys with jobseekers, employers and difficult to find qualified employees. consumers. • While jobseekers mostly did not know about a job centre, This LMA focused specifically on the district of Shatt Al-Arab, they suggested that job services could be offered in the Basra Governorate. centres of the respective communities. A summary of key findings is included below, followed by • Farmers reported personal connection and word of recommendations for future interventions. mouth as their main hiring mechanism. Farmers were KEY FINDINGS mostly against hiring through more formal channels. • Sixty-nine per cent of jobseekers noted a preference • The most common challenge facing farmers was water for owning their business, suggesting a preference for salinity, followed by buffalos walking on the cultivated areas entrepreneurship in the community. and destroying crops (reported by about one third of farmers). • Workshop participants mentioned that most jobs available in the communities were in farming and livestock. • Consumers reported travelling outside community, mostly to buy clothes, followed by electrical devices and • Jobseekers, on the other hand, added jobs in the oil household appliances. industry, construction (also tools and material), and less mentioned sectors such as groceries, trade, and industry • Overall, 14 per cent of farmers experience poor demand, in general. A small number mentioned that there were 66 per cent average and 20 per cent high. However, 87 no jobs. per cent of the farmers also described a rather poor business situation. Only 13 per cent reported making • Key informants also mentioned that agriculture, some profits. manufacturing (aluminum, wood, decorations), handicrafts, construction, a foreign electricity provider (employing 300 • Farms with high demand pay their skilled workers the workers in the district), and the government are currently highest salaries, followed by farmers with average and employing the highest number of people in the district. poor demand. • Farmers reported that working hours averaged 7.4 hours per day. Farmers do not have written contracts with workers. 4 IOM IRAQ Labour Market Opportunities and Challenges Recommendations Agriculture and livestock, industry (aluminum, fertilizers, paper), construction and health. Carpentry was also mentioned as having potential for growth because imported SECTORS TO TARGET furniture is apparently not sold (no further details were given), according to one key informant Shops and food trade, taxi driving, block manufacturing and imported goods in general were reported as oversaturated and should be therefore avoided. The metal sector, SECTORS TO AVOID/TARGET carpentry, manufacturing of PVC and aluminum were also mentioned as sectors WITH CAUTION with potential for growth (above) and as sectors to avoid. These should be therefore targeted with caution • Farmer training was suggested, but further details were not provided • While owning their business was preferred by jobseekers - which makes business support package and expansion support package appropriate - no further details were provided ACTIVITIES TO TARGET • Vocational training was not mentioned and jobseekers did not think any skills were difficult to find by employers • On-the-Job training is suggested, as most employers have had apprentices in the past and almost 90% are interested in providing apprenticeships ACTIVITIES TO AVOID N/A The vast majority of consumers do not have savings and more than half have debts. While CFW was not suggested explicitly, building bridges for pedestrians to ease CASH FOR WORK transportation issues in the community, and pedestrian movement, was mentioned as needed in the surveyed communities While key informants though that cash support would not cause community conflicts, half of jobseekers prefer cash and the other half in-kind assistance. According to half of UNRESTRICTED CASH the jobseekers surveyed, people are comfortable paying for purchases in cash, whereas the other half thinks that people are not comfortable with it. Therefore both cash and in-kind assistance are appropriate. PROFILES TO TARGET Graduates, youth, older people, unskilled workers, female-headed households • Ploughs, water pumps, greenhouses, modern irrigation systems, crop cover, ferti- lizers, seeds, pesticides, transportation for distribution were reported as needed by farmers NOTES: • The farmers’ association is not active • Maintenance of irrigation water gates is required • In terms of livestock, vaccines, vet services, and dealing with stray dogs were reported as requiring attention Table 1. Recommendations IOM IRAQ 5 Labour Market Opportunities and Challenges STUDY INTRODUCTION IOM recognizes that the private sector is an engine for growth; Basra’s location at the Shatt Al-Arab and its vast oil reserves therefore, it strives to create inclusive markets at the individual, makes it one of the economically most important governorates community and institutional levels. At the individual level, IOM of the country. The massive oilfields of Basra produce two has prioritized support to micro enterprises, including providing thirds of Iraq’s oil output. Nonetheless, the once-called Venice business development services (for example business advisory of the Middle East is today a showcase for the virtual absence services) and Business Support Packages (BSPs), including of public services, which have been decaying since 2003. Basra in-kind and cash support, all of which aim to increase income was also a battleground in both the Iran-Iraq war and the generation at the household level. two Gulf Wars, damaging the economic infrastructure and leaving a host of mines and unexploded ordnances littered For those individuals who need capacity development support throughout the governorate, which
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