Ninety businesses and organizations participated in the fair at the University of Zakho in northern Duhok province and were required to “hire from one to nine applicants,” said organizer Karwan Jaqsi.
Companies working in the oil sector drew the most interest, followed by transportation. Other participants work in the trade and telecommunication fields, and humanitarian and environmental organizations were also present.
University graduate Fouad Abdulhakim attended the fair with a handful of copies of his curriculum vitae. “I brought 15 copies of my CV with me today. I attended the career fair and applied to 15 companies,” he said.
The unemployment rate has dramatically increased in Iraq in the past 10 years, reaching nearly 14 percent in 2020, according to World Bank data. In the Kurdistan Region, the government is a major employer, but has imposed a hiring freeze for several years as part of austerity measures. Unemployment is a factor driving migration to Europe, often via unsafe routes or with the assistance of smugglers. In recent months, Kurdish migrants have gotten stuck in Libya, Syria, and Belarus.
Translation and video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed
