1 TRANSLATION OF THE PROCEEDINGS AND ... - APFA News

Penden Cement Plants are Bhutanese. Although the majority of the business
people and traders in the past in Thimphu were expatriates, there are none
today.
The Minister said that 100% of the workers in the tourist industry are Bhutanese
and this is one reason why the tourist industry is being emphasized and given
priority by the Government. The small problems faced by the Bhutanese at work
and in employment are due to the fact that they have lived in a state of peace
and happiness for the last 40 years or so and had not faced great hardships. In
future, if the Bhutanese people work with commitment and dedication they
would not face any insurmountable problems or difficulties.
The Bhutanese people may not have high education but they are highly skilled
and accomplished. For instance most of the pilots of the national airline are
Bhutanese and it is also Bhutanese who carry out the routine repair and
maintenance works on the aircrafts.
The Minister pointed out that although expatriate workers are currently
employed in both public and private projects and enterprises, the number of
expatriate workforce will naturally decrease in a few years time as more trained
and skilled Bhutanese become available. Even in the present, efforts are being
made by the government to reduce the size of the expatriate workforce.
A Royal Advisory Councillor pointed out that there are no options but to
employ some expatriate workers in big projects with a wide scope of work and a
definite time schedule within which they have to be completed. For the
construction of residential buildings and other smaller undertakings, expatriate
workers are mostly employed for cement masonry works as there are only very
few Bhutanese with these skills. Therefore, it is important that the government
considers this a significant area where training is required. Development of the
industrial sector would lead to the creation of jobs for the unemployed
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