We launch our new Jobs in Iraq page today on the IBN web site in response to reader demand. This is a free reciprocal service for Recruitment Agencies and Employers with jobs on offer in Iraq. For readers it provides a welcome source of employment options in a country crying out for skilled labour and competent management.

Oil & Gas, Construction & Engineering, Public works, Agriculture , Education, Communications, and Transportation are all sectors where skilled people are needed.

If you have vacancies in Iraq contact Antony Wakeham on www.iraq-businessnews.com or email antony.wakeham@iraq-businessnews.com. The service is free on a reciprocal link basis.

Educational centers teaching journalism and media studies in Iraq have increased dramatically since 2003, which observers find promising in the country’s opening.

After the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, under which independent journalism was strictly censored, many independent media centers opened in Iraq, the majority of which are based in Kurdistan Region due to the security situation of other parts of the country.

The centers oversee media courses which have been attracting a large number of journalists in recent years.

Some of the most prominent media centers include:

• the Dutch “Press Now”;
• the Independent Media Center in Kurdistan (IMCK);
• the Independent Media Center in Baghdad (IMCB); and
• the Institute for War and Peace (IWP),

in addition to other local organizations linked to international bodies.

The representative of the IMCB, Kholud Ramzi, said, “These centers organize courses to teach the basics of the press and media and admit graduates of Iraqi universities from various parts of the country.” Last year, only graduates from a limited number of Iraqi provinces were admitted to the center.

The majority of the organizations give four to six sessions per year, according to official statistics of the Union of News Organizations in Iraq, involving dozens of Iraqi journalists.

Student Manaf Taleb, 25, told AKnews that he had participated in lengthy sessions of teaching journalism and media that are held in Kurdistan. At the completion of the courses Taleb said he realized what the press was and what its importance and accuracy meant.

“I got certificates that qualified me to work in the field of journalism and the media.” Taleb said with joy.

Another trainee, Ayoub Hasan, 25, said he learned a lot from the journalism training and that he loves his career as a journalist.

“I am a graduate of the Faculty of Science – Department of Chemistry – but I entered the field of journalism, and participated in the course for eight months at the Institute of Journalism of the Independent Media Center in Kurdistan,” said Hasan.

“I felt it served me a lot in my professional career, I am ready to participate in other sessions that develop my abilities in journalism and media.” said Hasan.

(Source: AKnews)

The government of Nepal has lifted the ban on Nepalis working in Iraq.

An estimated 30,000 Nepalis working in Iraq were facing the prospect of deportation after the US asked its contractors to send home expatriate workers whose countries impose a travel ban in Iraq.

“We took the decision for the sake of Nepalis already working in Iraq,” said Purna Chandra Bhattarai, Joint Secretary at Nepal’s Ministry of Labour and Transport Management. “However, workers will not be allowed to go there just yet without a further assessment of the situation of Nepalis in Iraq.”

The ban was introduced in 2004 after 12 Nepalis working in Iraq were killed. The incident has not deterred Nepalis from taking up jobs in Iraq at relatively high wages. An estimated 2.7 million Nepalis work abroad.

(Sources: BBC, Nepali Times)

Related articles:

• Make a Fortune in Iraq – Lord Archer
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ICDL GCC Foundation, the governing body and the certification authority of the International Computer Driving License program in GCC and Iraq, called on more participation from the private and semi-government businesses to support further digital awareness among all sectors of society through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs.

Everyone is ultimately a stakeholder from a digitally literate society, as it will facilitate to consumers the reach to more products and services available online, and extends to governments and businesses increased online transactions at significant operational cost savings.

The Foundation is involved in many projects that reflect its mission of further developing a digital society; among these projects is the recently launched ICDL summer camp 2010 with the support of the governments, universities, and a few from the private sector.

This program has helped more than 10,000 youngsters from across the Gulf region to become IT skilled and it is considered an initial step to create a safe and efficient IT literate youth.

Corporate citizens and governments are equally accountable to their local communities. CSR benefits do not only fall into the community and the environment. There are also huge benefits to corporate citizens such as better financial performance, reduced operating costs, an enhanced image and reputation, increase in sales and customer loyalty, greater ability to attract and retain employees, as well as product safety and decreased liability.

It is important for corporate citizens to focus their CSR efforts towards their areas of expertise which they can genuinely add value and at the same time allow their business to reap the rewards in the long run. This is critical for the sustainability of any CSR effort as it will guarantee a long-term commitment that will allow the projects to come to fruition and really benefit the community they target.

Jamil Ezzo, Director General of the ICDL GCC Foundation, said: “The biggest challenge facing the implementation of CSR initiatives in the UAE and throughout the region is that most corporate citizens do not recognise the importance of their active participation in their local community. There is thus no real willingness to engage in a long-term strategic partnership with the government to promote IT awareness in society. On the other hand, governments should set incentives to encourage the private sector to engage in CSR and recognise the leading adopters of this field.”

ICDL GCC Foundation intends to launch large-scale campaigns aimed at encouraging IT companies and telecommunications providers to reduce their service costs. The campaigns will be undertaken in response to the positive reception of nationals and expatriates to the e-services and advanced technologies being adopted by government departments and private establishments; including E-banking, E- booking, E- government, E- trade, E- learning, and online job hunting. Another initiative the foundation is pursuing in cooperation with the various parties including; local e-governments and other benefitting industries involves the “e-Citizen” Program, which is an initiative aimed at preparing the public on the use of online services in their daily activities. This initiative will target thousands of citizens from different social groups.

Related articles:

• Iraqi IT sales to exceed US$60m this year
• Canon ME Pledges Support for Summer Camps
• Iraq Fiber Gateway to the World

In a recent opinion piece in the Times, Lord Jeffrey Archer was enthusiastic about the opportunities to be grasped in modern Iraq:

• “Today [Baghdad] is a boom town, rather than a bomb site. If I were a young man, looking to make my fortune, I would be off to Iraq like a shot.“
• ” … there is an opportunity in Iraq that rivals the gold rush.“
• “If I were 30 and not 70, I would go and find out who wants what and see that they got it.“

He was particularly bullish about Iraqi Kurdistan, with which he has had a long association:

• “The city of Erbil looks like Dubai 15 or 20 years ago.“
• “Go east young man, go to Kurdistan. You could make your first million, and what’s more, you won’t be taxed at 50 per cent.“

And while Lord Archer’s relationship with the truth has sometimes been called into question,  his arguments for Iraq are clearly supported by the evidence, as regular readers of Iraq Business News will be aware.

But it’s not always an easy place to do business, which is why it’s important to get the best advice and guidance.

The difficulties are not all on one side, however: President Barzani spelled out the problems that Iraqis have in getting entry visas to Britain, for example, a problem they do not face in France or Germany. Indeed, we have highlighted this issue in the past.

As ever, the rewards will be reaped by those who face the difficulties and take the risks.

Will your business be part of the Iraqi success story? If so, Upper Quartile and AAIB are the perfect team to help you manage the risks and grasp the opportunities. For more information please contact Gavin Jones or Adrian Shaw.

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Asiacell Communications LLC becomes first Iraqi company to implement a full-fledged enterprise e-recruitment solution to attract, engage and hire exceptional telecom professionals.

“Recruiting exceptional talent is a challenge globally. The challenge is even bigger when you are trying to hire quality people in Iraq, especially expatriates. We have to compete with telecom companies worldwide for the same set of top industry professionals and we have to do it right to be successful,” says Akam Falah Jamil, HR-Expatriate Services Section Head at Asiacell, explaining the need for a fundamental shift in the way they recruited people.

For Iraq’s largest mobile telecoms , the only company to provide network coverage in all 18 governorates, this change in attitude is a refreshing but bold approach to manage their existing challenges. Asiacell is now the first company in Iraq to have successfully implemented a state-of-the-art e-recruitment solution with the aim of hiring exceptional talent.

The e-recruitment solution they have implemented in partnership with Hiring Solutions is on par with the best solutions used by Fortune 500 companies. It also has the added benefit of features built specifically for the Middle East market, such as Arabic interface and Milestone Trackers for visas, medicals, etc. The intelligent solution automates the entire recruitment process from job requisition to on-boarding, among other things.

Akam says, “We wanted a solution that helped us recruit the best local and global talent while simultaneously improving the cost-per-hire and time-to-hire. We wanted to be proactive in our approach to recruitment, build our own private database that could be shared across multiple business units and we wanted the solution to be up and running in a matter of weeks.”

Hiring Solutions was chosen because it had a consistent track-record for delivering all of the above in the Middle East and Africa region. By mid-July, the solution was already up and running and recruiters as well as line managers were trained to use the solution effectively.

James Padkin, Director, Client Services at Hiring Solutions, says “A high-end software is just a small part of a successful e-recruitment solution. This is why, we have provided Asiacell with a solution that not only automates and streamlines its hiring processes but also provides smart sourcing strategies, builds a powerful employer brand, enhances the candidate experience and ensures that recruiters focus on quality candidates rather than waste their time on administrative tasks and reading thousands of CVs.”

About Asiacell

Asiacell, the first mobile telecommunications company in Iraq, was established in the city of Sulaimaniya in 1999 by the well-known entrepreneur Mr. Faruk Mustafa Rasool. It is today the only national Iraqi telecom network to provide coverage for all of the country’s provinces in the north and the south and is the largest private Iraqi company, serving over 7.8 million subscribers and connecting the Iraqi nation together.

About Hiring Solutions

- “Changing the way the Middle East recruits”

Hiring Solutions is the leading provider of enterprise e-recruitment solutions in the Middle East and Africa. Its world-class Sniperhire software platform is used by over 200 businesses in 42 countries to lower costs and reduce time while hiring exceptional talent.

Related articles:

• Asiacell Signs PR Agreement with Leo Burnett
• Asiacell at 7th Media Telecommunications Conference
• Asiacell Launches Its ‘Bawe3 Zaen’ Campaign

Is your business in Iraq or going to Iraq or just thinking about it? Either way our community of subscribers and readers in 112 countries will almost certainly contain people who could become customers or influence buying decisions. Some of them may already be customers.

Either way, telling them about your business, keeping your name in front of them, reassuring them, is all part of ensuring your future in one of the world’s fastest growing economies.

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Even if you are not a marketeer you might want to pass this simple statistic on to someone in your organisation who is – the IBN Web site has readers in 112 countries and they view our pages 40,000 times a month. If you see the sense in communicating effectively with business people, politicians, diplomats, decision makers exclusively interested in Iraq you would choose a medium which can demonstrate not just numbers but commitment wouldn’t you? So here is another stat to pass on – our readers – you – read over four pages each time you log on and only 0.45% of you ‘bounce’. That’s commitment for you.

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