Kuwait Finance House (KFH) CEO Mohammed Al-Omar stressed in his speech at the Tamkeen Conference yesterday, that the private sector can play a pivotal role in easing the tension of issues related to youths, such as employment and housing, if it was granted a full, in-depth vision that offers incentives and privileges. He added that half of Kuwait’s population is youths, which challenges the government to train and recruit them, in addition to boosting the level of education. He went on to say that the private sector can be supported by increasing governmental expenditure and offering projects, especially in the fields of housing and infrastructure.
Moreover, Al-Omar stated that boosting the market, increasing expenditure, eliminating bureaucracy, and enacting legislations, can expand the role of the private sector in recruiting new competent youths. He noted that building new cities revives the real estate market that is linked to over 50 professions and items. He asserted that if youths were provided with housing and jobs, good citizens will be the result.
Al-Omar said that KFH is considered to be the Harvard of Islamic banks, since many of its senior employees manage leading Islamic corporations. He mentioned that KFH encourages learning and innovation, and asserted that KFH managed to create new investment and job opportunities; thus boosting the local, regional, and global economies. He explained that successful institutions have several managerial levels that possess the same level of experience, which allows the institution to function optimally without depending on certain people. He revealed that KFH reconsidered it business model and the restructuring, which improves its profit and cements sustainability.
Furthermore, Al-Omar asked youths to look into the labour market to determine the required fields of expertise, in order to gain experience and hone skills for such fields. He stressed that choosing a career is not an easy decision, and should be taken after careful thinking. He went on to say that youths have to choose between the public and private sectors. He warned that youths should not focus solely on one or two factors, such as financial benefits and job stability, but should address all other factors.
Al-Omar revealed that KFH took part in Equate, and stated that other challenges include expanding KFH-Turkey from a local bank into a regional and global bank that has 270 branches in Turkey, not to mention other banks in Dubai and Bahrain. He added that other subsidiary banks will open in Qatar and Germany.