Challenges to The Workforce Localization in the Private Sector in Gulf Countries: Content Analysis

Abstract The discovery of oil in the Gulf countries brought strong economic growth and an influx of foreign workers for privately held companies. These countries have since maintained their growth by relying on expatriates from all over the world, particularly from South Asian countries. In contrast, locals were recruited for most of the public sector jobs. In response to significant population growth and high unemployment rates, these countries took on some initiatives, including the localisation of the workforce. This paper analyzes the current localisation effort, which is a process of replacing expatriates with local workers in six Gulf countries. A content analysis of literature is used to understand the challenges related to required skills, work hours, salary, language, and experience. Results indicate that these challenges have impeded localisation efforts in the private sector. This study has significant implications for global organisations and human resource development professionals seeking to localise a proportion of their workforce as a workforce management strategy.