Dr. Laaleh Al-Aali
Private sector employers continue to resist employing nationals despite the nationalization strategies implemented by the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) to increase national labor participation. The paper explores private sector employers’ resistance in the GCC to employ nationals by reviewing current literature review. The resistance is evident through the literature review explored in GCC countries like Oman, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The resistance of private sector employers merits further investigation as private sector employers play a crucial role in nationalization strategies implementation. The literature review reveals a need to address change processes directed to overcoming the resistance by private sector employers. The paper explores private sector employers’ view towards national labour participation, specifically in the Kingdom of Bahrain owing to the lack of published research about Bahrain national participation in the labour market “Bahrainization”. The study is conducted through a qualitative methodology of conducting semi-structured interviews with private sector managers and government officials. The data reveals that the lack of co-ordination with education and training with labour market needs does not form nationals as employees of choice in Bahrain.