81 certificates that did not comply with accreditation requirement

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 22: With the ongoing efforts of government agencies to cleanse the labor market from claimants of various professions, the Public Authority of Manpower (PAM), with the cooperation of the Kuwait Society of Engineers, has taken practical steps to control the market and verify academic qualifications, especially engineering certifications, reports Al-Qabas daily.

The Kuwait Society of Engineers recently received 5,248 applications to evaluate the qualifications of engineers for approval with PAM's cooperation.

At the same time, the qualifications of 16,000 residents working as accountants or related professions are under scrutiny.

According to data obtained by the daily, the Kuwait Society of Engineers recently discovered 81 certificates that did not comply with accreditation requirements, seven of which were forged, of which 16 certificates were of Egyptian expatriates and 14 of Indian expatriates.

The data showed that Indians and Egyptians are the top nationalities that submitted requests for the approval of the qualification recently, representing 70 percent of the total applicants.

In a similar context, Head of the Kuwait Society for Engineers Faisal Al-Otol revealed the intention to form a national accreditation council with members from a group of government agencies to test the engineers.

Regarding the approval of engineering certificates coming from India, Al-Otol said Kuwait's position is firm in terms of granting the title of "engineer" in the work permits of non-Kuwaitis, as it is done according to a unified mechanism that is applied online, with the exception of matching the ratifications of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He stressed that India's request to adopt special treatment for its nationals is not possible, and that the society does not mind expanding the accreditation lists from India, provided that it is compatible with the requirements of the labor market and provides the required skills.

Al-Otol highlighted that the mechanism for dealing with all nationalities is the same, and that verifying the authenticity of the certificate has become an imperative necessity.

He said, "The society fulfilled this task and lifted the government’s burden of this performance without charging it with anything."

Al-Otol said he hopes there will be an end to the recruitment of freshly graduated engineers from abroad, as the principle is to bring in experienced people.