If the real intention is to create jobs, stimulate economic growth, and cut the dole queues, it is essential to augment and institutionalize work ethics, a deputy labor minster said at the weekend.
Hassan Taee, in charge of the ministry’s employment and entrepreneurial affairs, told a meeting of bankers, labor experts and government managers in Qom that “education, skills, deep knowledge and expertise are, among other things, factors that contribute to employment” and by extension lead to decent levels of growth. He added that “cultural development, productivity, taking risks, and impetuosity are other important factors, to which less attention has been given in our country,” ILNA reported.
According to some outdated culture that long was (and still is) a norm in Iran, the official complained, “job seekers still hunt for work in government organizations.” This is one of the primary reasons why the job market is what it is today and large numbers of eligible people remain unemployed, he noted.
University students, graduates and others specializing in various fields would do better to enter the scene and set up “employment agencies which will benefit themselves and those in search of work.”
Despite the fact that many businesses are keen on investing in new jobs and entrepreneurship, the lack of an efficient administrative system that can and should facilitate investments in key areas, plus the bloated bureaucracy, has created the conditions wherein the problem of joblessness has yet not been addressed, Taee complained. The Rouhani administration, which took office last year, is saddled with high employment, an empty coffer and the multilateral economic sanctions imposed on Iran due to its nuclear program, which the US-led West claims has a military dimension. Tehran strongly denies the claim and has declared that the program is geared to peaceful use.
The president and his men have routinely called for creating the conditions for private sector growth, fostering the culture of entrepreneurship and improving legislation in the interest of small and big businesses as the engines of growth.
