Bridging the Gap Between Gulf Higher Education and Labor Market in Industry 4.0

This chapter elaborates on the key findings presented in the manuscript and identifies the main channels and dynamics through which GCC countries can bridge the gap between education development and increasingly dynamic labor market needs. It places the current development in the higher education sector and labor policy in the context of Industry 4.0. The chapter also defines the types of jobs associated with Industry 4.0, while attempting to foresee the prospect of such jobs and related skills in the Gulf region. As the impact of investment on education may take a generation or two to be realized, we wonder how and to what extent will the Gulf countries be able to lessen their heavy dependence on expatriate workers and build a scalable, formidable, skillful national workforce capable of fully engaging in the development process.