Hussain A. Al-Kharafi

As part of its duties, KIU collaborates with government agencies to address bureaucratic hurdles and streamline processes and promotes innovation through training courses and educational trips.

What challenges has KIU and the sector faced in recent years?

One challenge in the sector is the slow pace. The economic policies that we are trying to push forward are at a standstill because industrial land is scarce. The government has its plans, and the location of industrial cities has been identified; however, the process takes time. Another challenge with land is that once it has been identified by the municipality and approved, it is up to government agencies to develop it. We simply do not see enough projects flowing in Kuwait. Most are limited in scope and are concentrated on housing. Even though housing is a priority, we should not disregard other activities. We are working to convince the government of the importance of industry because it is the key to economic activity, vital at a time of rising unemployment.

How does the union collaborate with government agencies?

We collaborate through joint committees, some of which are temporary and based on the case at hand, while others are permanent. Our role on such committees is to study the difficulties and find ways to minimize inherent problems such as red tape. We work with government agencies to assist them with any issues. We can either solve the problem or else find the appropriate decision maker to handle the situation. We have to locate the source of the problem and make sure everyone is satisfied in the end. KIU has been successful in key matters where, for example, there is overlapping work between the municipality and the Public Authority For Industry (PAI). It took us three years to get them together, and we created a dedicated committee. Now, the municipality has decentralized certain work and delegated tasks to PAI to oversee.

How does the union support the sector in the race for innovation?

We strive within our capacity and capability to boost innovation through training courses, Also, we bring selected youth, such as fresh graduates, on trips to industrial countries such as Germany and Japan where they visit factories to become acquainted with current processes. We also encourage our members to shift as much as possible within the type of industry they are in to use advanced, less labor-intensive machinery.

How does KIU contribute to promoting sustainable practices?

Most of the factories, if not all, abide by the rules and regulations of the Public Authority of the Environment. We put in place the tools that measure air quality and assess the findings. Rarely do we see a factory polluting the environment because we undertake the monitoring for the benefit of the environment and the workforce.

What are some of the training courses that you offer?

We have an annual program called Future Makers where we take students and fresh graduates to factories to for awareness. We also have a program highlighting how the industry contributes to economic diversification. It aims to familiarize Kuwaiti youth with the history of local industry and its current role in the prosperity of the local economy. In addition, this practical program helps participants in their future employment and internship opportunities by exposing them to different sectors. This program is organized by KIU on an annual basis during spring and summer breaks. The structured program includes field trips, workshops, and training sessions. And we have been doing this annually, since 2014. We also provide training programs for our members based on annual questionnaires to identify training requirements. If firms have a shortage of certain skill sets, we organize a training program to address the current shortage, bringing in people to train and teaching them the right way to perform that job. Every year, we stage an interesting type of race within the industrial zone and its factories. We lay down a line to for runners to follow and they enter the various facilities while they are jogging, viewing the machinery, and people working as they pass.