labor market assessment · 2018-05-28 · mercy corps labor market assessment: khanaquin, diyala 2...

LABOR MARKET ASSESSMENT

Khanaquin, Diyala governorate FEBRUARY 2017

MERCY CORPS Labor Market Assessment: Khanaquin, Diyala 2

Introduction

Context

The Iraqi context is increasingly complex, with over 11 million people in need of humanitarian assistance,

including 230,000 Syrian refugees and nearly 3 million internally displaced Iraqis. While the attention of

humanitarian actors has been directed towards areas newly retaken from the Islamic State of Iraq and

the Levant, Sulaymaniyah and Diyala remain among the areas hosting a large population of displaced

families from Syria and Iraq. Current projections also indicate that 1.2 to 2 million people may return to

their homes of origin in 2017; Diyala has already seen the return of nearly 200,000 individuals. As of

February 2017, over 5 million people are in dire need of livelihoods assistance across Iraq. The strategic

objective of the Emergency Livelihoods and Social Cohesion Cluster and its partners for 2017 is to help

conflict-affected people cope with the impact of crisis, by expanding livelihood opportunities in

communities with large concentrations of displaced families, which will in turn improve social cohesion

and reduce tensions in these same communities. In order to contribute to the achievement of this strategic

objective, Mercy Corps has conducted a labor market assessment in January 2017 in Khanaquin, Diyala

governorate, to assess employment opportunities and gain a deeper understanding of market demand

and trends and patterns in various sectors of employment and professional networks existing there.

Report structure

This report is outlined as follows: I. The first section consists of the description of the methodology used for this labor market

assessment, including the assessment objectives, data collection and sampling methods,

and the study limitations and field challenges;

II. The second section summarizes the main findings of this evaluation, including business

profiles, employment opportunities, skills in demand and market prospects;

III. The third and last section presents the conclusions drawn from this labor market assessment

in Khanaquin, Diyala.


Methodology

Objectives

This assessment’s strategic objective was to support the design of Livelihoods programs by Mercy Corps

by providing evidence-based insights into market demand, current opportunities and challenges faced in

hiring by employers in Khanaquin, as well as potential for on-the-job training initiatives through internship

or apprenticeship schemes. This assessment was shaped by two key principles:

• The assessment was market-driven in order to assess how target populations can best be

supported to find meaningful employment and self-employment.

• The assessment looked into hard and soft skills most prioritized by employers in Khanaquin; this

data will be complemented by a beneficiary competency assessment with youth aged 18 to 24 in

April 2017.

This labor market assessment had three specific objectives:

• To gain a stronger understanding of the demand-side labor market in the program’s areas of

intervention, including understanding current economic trends, i.e. expansion and contraction

patterns, both overall and within specific sectors of employment.

• To assess employers’ hiring practices as well as technical and transferrable skills in demand;

• To determine opportunities and constraints for business start-up and expansion, including

availability of finance and profitability of key sectors.

Data collection methods

A quantitative survey was administered to business owners in order to explore the structure, opportunities

and challenges of a range of business sectors; current hiring practices; current practice and demand for

training schemes and apprenticeships; skills-sets most in demand; businesses’ perceptions of job

seekers; and constraints to starting or expanding a business. The survey is attached to this document as

an annex. Data collection occurred over the month of January 2017 (January 4 – 24) and was

implemented by a team of two Mercy Corps Field Monitors, including one female and one male. In order

to minimize data entry errors and maximize efficiency in data collection, this assessment was conducted

using mobile data collection techniques, knows as Open Data Kit (ODK); the ONA online platform has

been used for questionnaire coding and data analysis.


Sampling method

Downtown Khanaquin (Khanaquin city center) was mainly chosen as data collection cluster because of

the substantial economic activity present in the area, as well as for both accessibility and security reasons

for Mercy Corps and its beneficiaries. Starting from a common landmark in different neighborhoods, such

as the mosque, the square or the main street, interviewers have adopted a simple walking and systematic

sampling method; they selected one out of two businesses or shops for the survey until the sample quote

had been reached. The latter was calculated based on the estimated number of businesses in Khanaquin,

with a target set at 40 surveys. Because a main aim of the assessment was to understand hiring practices,

however, very small (micro) businesses were excluded from the study. A total of 67 surveys have been

conducted in January 2017 in Khanaquin, overachieving the initial target by almost 70 percent.

Limitations and challenges

This study had two main limitations:

• The chosen sampling frame was mostly calculated on both estimations of number of businesses in

the assessed neighborhoods as well as considerations for logistical and time feasibility of data

collection. Even though 67 surveys is a significant number of business profiling and assessments for

a small town like Khanaquin, the quantitative data presented in this report should be handled with

caution, as statistical significance was not fully guaranteed by the sampling method.

• Business owners have shown some reluctance to disclose their monthly income to the data collection

team, therefore, the mean and median presented in relation to business profit has been calculated

only on available data. However, only two businesses ultimately refused to share their monthly income

with the team.


Findings

Business profiles

Due to social and cultural norms in Khanaquin, very few business owners were female; Mercy Corps field

monitors were able to interview only 3 per cent women, and 97 per cent men. Almost a third of business

owners had graduated either from a technical institute or from university (31 percent). Slightly than a third

had completed secondary education and obtained their high school diploma (30 percent). Noticeably,

almost one out of ten respondents had no education at all. As is shown below, the most numerous type

of business fell into the vehicle repair category, followed by retail shops, such as stationeries, clothing

and fabric shops, tailoring and sewing businesses and cosmetic shops, as well as petrol stations, most

of which were specified under “Others”. Carwashes, tinsmiths and bakeries ranked next.

16% 13% 7.5% 7.5% 6% 6%4.5%

4.5%

4.5%

4.5%

3%

3%

3%

3%

3%

3%

1.5%

1.5%

1.5%

1.49%

1.5%

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00% 80.00% 90.00% 100.00%

Businesses open and surveyed in Khanaquin

Repair of vehicles other

Tailoring carwash

tinsmith bakery

phones beauty salons and barbers

wholesale trade Manufacture of construction materials

watch repairs banking

Restaurants and food service industry Construction work / masonry

Agriculture and livestock rearing metalwork

printing and publishing carpentry

Calligraphy health

plumbing


Over a quarter of the business owners interviewed admitted that their businesses were not officially

registered with the government ministry. In average, they had started their business activity approx. 13

years ago. To be noted here is that 2 answers have been excluded from the analysis, as they reported

numbers over 50 and 60 most certainly due to business owners having understood that they were being

asked for their age.

The surveyed businesses represented a wide spectrum in terms of profitability, as reflected in their

reported monthly incomes.The overwhelming majority of businesses present in Khanaquin are small

businesses, with a very small number of medium and large businesses over 2,000,000 IQD monthly

income. While the mean average is 878,656 IQD, the median is somewhat lower at IQD 600,000. This

reflects the fact that the sample contains a large number of small businesses with a small number of

medium/large businesses.

The average number of employees was rather small, with only 3 to 4 employees reported by business;

most of the businesses have only two employees, including the owner, working for 8 to 9 hours a day.

0

2000000

4000000

6000000

8000000

10000000

12000000

14000000

16000000

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Monthly income of businesses surveyed, January 2017


Assessment in terms of business sizes in Khanaquin shows that the food service industry, including

restaurants, catering, cooking and waitressing services, as well as bakeries, do tend to hire a larger

number of employees, in average, than other sectors of employment. This was followed by agricultural

and livestock rearing farms, carwashes and carpentry factories. However, it is to be noted that the number

of surveys varied from one sector of employment to another, based on business real presence in the

area, thus the sample was different in each. It is important to distinguish the average number of

employees for each business, and the actual number of such businesses present in the community.

2

12

21

8

12

3 32 2

1 1

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 30

Khanaquin

Number of employees across all sectors of employment T…

16

6.25 6 5.4 4 3.5 3.5 3 3 2.5 2.5 2.5 2

khanaqin

Average employee number per sector of employment

restaurants and food service industry bakery

Agriculture and Livestock rearing carwash

carpentry other

metalwork tinsmith

banking construction

wholesale phones

vehicles


Employment opportunities

Out of the 53 businesses that have more than one person working, only 36 per cent were actually

employing other people under salaried conditions. However, none of these businesses is signing a written

contract with their employees. Among the remaining 64 per cent, most workforce members were training

interns (19 out of 34), ten companies were non-officially employing relatives and five had business

partners. Noticeably, out of the same 53 businesses with salaried employees, only 4 of them reported to

have female employees, which demonstrates the current little access women have to formal employment

in Khanaquin. Approx. one fifth of them were employing Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Only 6

percent (3 businesses) stated that the majority of their employees were youth aged 16 to 24. The

overwhelming majority of the workforce employed was situated in the younger half of the working age

bracket, i.e. 25 to 45 years old (as per 81 per cent of respondents). None of the businesses had home-

based employees.

More than three quarters of business owners stated that they considered it easy to find workers in this

area that possess the technical skills required by their company according to their respective sectors of

employment. When asked about the main challenges faced when attempting at hiring new employees in

Khanaquin, employers identified lack of trustworthiness of applicants as the foremost challenge when

hiring, perhaps somewhat explaining the prevalence of hiring to occur on the basis of familiar networks.

When asked how they would usually advertise job openings at their firm or business, the vast majority

replied that they would hire their family members or friends first or someone that these persons would

recommend (almost two thirds for each answer), followed by through someone already working for them

and were the relative or friend of an applicant.

64% 64%57%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Ways of recruiting employees

Through relative

Through friend

Through current employee being a relative/friend ofnew applicant


Over half of business owners had hire new

employees over the past year, i.e. in 2016 (57 per

cent). Among those that did not, almost all reported

that they either had no open vacancy to provide, or

that they had made insufficient profit to hire the extra

staff that they needed. Overall, 40 percent of

business owners reported their plan to hire new staff

in the next year, i.e. over the course of 2017. The rest

stated that they were not able to answer yet, as it

would depend on the evolution of the economic and

financial situation of both Khanaquin city itself, and

their company in particular.

Skills in demand

There were differences in the skills actually in

demand from the market side, and the skills,

characteristics and attributes that would play a

determining role in choosing to hire an employee in

the hiring process. Technical skills or previous work experience in the specific sector were by far the most

needed skills in the respective sectors of the business owners. These sectors included mobile repair,

mechanics, tinsmith, metalwork, construction work, carpentry, tire repair and car oil replacement,

carwashes, plumbing, printing, photocopying and scanning shops, butchers, farming, bread making, sewing

and make up and haircut / barber shops. This was followed by good work ethics and trustworthiness,

punctuality and customer-service orientation. When asked about what they would consider in the reality of

the hiring process, interestingly, “soft”, or “transferrable skills” that may be applied to both personal and

professional life, seemed to be generally more valued by employers than the actual technical skills

required for their profession. The most important attribute valued by employers was related to behavior

and work ethics, namely punctuality; being detail-oriented, honest and having good communication skills

were also largely mentioned as important factors for recruitment. This statement is to be nuanced by the

fact that over half of business owners were also looking for someone with previous work experience,

where they would probably gained both technical and transferrable skills, either in the same sector of

employment or another. This also confirms the fact that business owners stated that they needed the

technical skills in their specific sector of employment earlier.

Skills in demand Number of businesses

Technical skills / work experience 39

Good work ethics 8

Trustworthiness 7

Punctuality 4

63%

51%

30%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Main challenges to recruitment

Workers lack trust worthiness

Workers demand high salary

Shortage of supply / few workers with technicalskills or experience


Customer-service orientation 3

Hard working attitude 2

Smart 2

Honesty 2

Language skills (Arabic, Kurdish, English) 1

Cleanliness / good hygiene 1

Young 1

Good health 1

A key point to note is that gender, and most importantly preference for male employees, ranked third

among the attributes mentioned by employers, with over half of them stating that they would hire men

only (51 per cent). Finally, 39 per cent of business owners stated that they were looking for younger

employees and would favor youth in their recruitment process. This, however, contradicts to some extent

the requirement for previous experience, and calls for the support and strengthening of linkages between

youth and the market, either through formal employment schemes or internships and apprenticeships.

Almost half of the business owners surveyed stated that they accept young trainees or apprentices in

their companies, especially in repair shops for vehicles and motors, restaurants and bakeries, metalwork

and tinsmiths, as well as carwashes, phone repair shops, tailors and manufacturing companies for

57%52% 51%

40% 39% 37%

27%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Attributes most valued by employers

Punctuality

Work experience

Gender (male employee)

Pays attention to details

Age (young employee)

Honesty

Communication skills


construction materials. Such schemes are being arranged directly by the business owners, and last in

average nine months, with a broad range going from one month to two years. Approx. 3 to 4 apprentices

are trained by the businesses surveyed per year, in average, and are in majority paid more than 30,000

IQD per week. Half of the businesses taking apprentices stated that they hire all or most of the trainees

upon completion of their apprenticeship (48 per cent). Only 3 percent stated that they would not hire their

apprentices at the end of their training. Out of those that did not accept trainees, 91 said they had no

space to welcome them and 88 per cent stated that they simply had no post to fill.

A large majority of business owners stated their

interest in having trainees, in case there was an

organization that could help matching suitable

candidates with their businesses, and would

finance those apprentices with a stipend (63

percent). The remaining 37 percent was hesitant

and preferred not to answer this question, stating

that they did not know whether or not they would

be interested in the future. Most of them also

stated that they would accept young graduates as

employees in their firm (over two thirds). Tjose

who would not again mentioned the same

reasons as for not accepting trainees: lack of

physical space, and lack of vacancy.

Market prospects

In order to launch a small business in the same sectors as theirs, the owners responded in average that

people would need 40,000,000 IQD. The very minimum mentioned was 1 million IQD for calligraphy

workplaces and watch repair shops; the maximum was reported by a large restaurant owner as well as

a bank owner. Over half of respondents relied on a combination of both loans from relatives and their

own savings to open their business, while another 40 per cent relied only on their personal savings.

Overall, 91 per cent rely on their own money to compose their initial capital, and 54 per cent borrowed

money from their family members. Not half of the business owners reported to be able to access formal

loans from banks or microcredit institutions (49 per cent). Currently, 82 percent are renting their business

premises for an average of 506,636 IQD per month. However, half of the respondents are paying less

than 37,5000 IQD per month for rent. One answer was excluded from this analysis, as the respondent

reported to rent his workspace, yet said that he was paying 0 IQD for the rent.

In terms of growth, there is a general consensus amongst respondents that trading conditions have

worsened over the past year. Very few are the businesses whose size has not shrunken in the past year,

in terms of either financial profitability or number of employees. 90 per cent of the businesses have

decreased in size over the course of 2016, and 3 percent have stayed the same. Only 6 – 7 percent have

either opened, or increased their size and / or profit over the course of last year.

63%

37%

Interest in apprentices if suitable candidates and financial support

Yes Do not know


Forecasts are unfortunately not better and demonstrate high levels of uncertainty among business

owners in the private sector in Khanaquin: while almost half of the business owners said that they could

not make any projection for two years in advance (48 per cent), a third thought that their business would

be in the same situation as now, two percent were expecting a deterioration of their financial situation

and only 16 per cent were hoping for a business expansion in the next two years. Perceptions of

competition varied significantly, with 40 percent reporting higher competition in their sector compared to

a year ago, especially in the food service industries, including restaurants and bakeries, phone repair

shops, printing and publishing shops, manufactures of construction materials and wholesale trade. In all

sectors, business owners said that they either did not know what would happen to their overall sector in

terms of growth in the next two years, or expected the sector to remain relatively stable and similar as

that of today. When asked about the perceived reasons as of why certain businesses fail to be successful

in Khanaquin, almost all reasons in the drop-down multiple choice list were regularly mentioned.

Nonetheless, the accent was put even more on the lack of adequate initial capital and the lack of

availability of skilled workers, followed by the lack of marketing of the products they had to sell, the lack

of strong management, book-keeping and accounting skills as well as the lack of knowledge of the market

prices.

Finally, business owners were asked, based on their knowledge of the local market and local economy

in Khanaquin, what types of sectors of employment were in high demand, and thus likely to be the most

profitable as of January 2017. The five main sectors listed as booming by the respondents included the

food service industry, i.e. restaurants, farming, including crop agriculture and livestock rearing,

manufacture of food products and beverages, beauty salons and barbers, and the health sector.

0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00% 80.00% 100.00%

Fluctuations in size in the past 12 months

decreased increased Business not operational a year ago same


Conclusions

The market spectrum in Khanaquin city center is very much concentrated in small businesses with 2 to

4 employees. Most of them were vehicle repair shops, others, small tailors and carwash stations. Just

over a third of businesses were giving a salary to their employees, with the rest relying on familiar

networks or paid internship schemes. The main challenge to hiring was the lack of trustworthiness of

applicants, perhaps somewhat explaining the prevalence of hiring to occur based on familiar networks.

Almost two thirds stated that they would hire their family members or friends first or someone that these

persons would recommend whenever they would need to hire someone, and that they would not

necessarily advertise the job opening to the larger public. This may also be explained by the small size

of Khanaquin town where most community members and know and interact with each other on a very

regular, if not daily basis.

Technical skills and orevious work experience coupled with trustworthiness were in high demand from

potential employers. The latter seemed open and eager to have young employees, as being a younger

candidate was mentioned as one of the five most important attributes considered by employers in the

hiring process. To be noted is that Khanaquin being a small and rather conservative town with strong

social and cultural gender norms, the preference for hiring male employees was the third most frequently

mentioned determining factor when hiring, as stated by over half of the business owners there. This

should be taken into consideration when designing a Livelihoods program so as to ensure that the needs

and capacities of women and girls as part of the workforce are being addressed and met specifically.

The main challenge to hiring was reportedly the lack of technical skills among the population in the

neighborhoods, which calls for the establishment of vocational trainings for youth; this need is further

reinforced by the fact that technical skills and previous work experience in their relevant sector were

highly valued attributes and skills by employers when trying to hire someone. There are existing linkages

between youth and employers on the market that may benefit from additional logistical and financial

support to internship and apprenticeship schemes in the area. Half of the business owners reported that

they were already taking apprentices in their workplace. While the employability of these interns seems

to be rather high, with half of the businesses hiring them upon completion of the training, the focus should

be put on increasing linkages between youth and businesses to improve chances of insertion to the labor

market upon scheme completion.


Annexes

Please make sure to identify either the owner/partner or a director. If these people are unavailable, do not conduct the survey.

Mercy Corps is conducting a market assessment for our livelihoods program which works to provide market-driven vocational training for youth and adults in Khanaqin and Kalar. As we engage with these activities, we would like to talk to a few business owners like yourself to help us understand the situation of job seekers in your town and the district as a whole. We would therefore like to request your time to discuss a few questions we have prepared for you. The questionnaire should take no more than 30 minutes. The answers you will give will remain strictly confidential. You can refuse to participate or to answer some of the questions. But we hope that you will participate as your answers are very important to understanding the market demand for skilled workers in your town and the district as a whole.

1 May I begin the survey? 1. Yes 2. No (Stop the interview)

For Interviewer to Record (Do not ask from the respondent)

2 Name of survey administrator

3 Date of interview

4 City 1. Khanaqin 2. Kalar

5 Area 1. Downtown 2. Industrial area 3. Other (specify)

Interviewee personal profile

6 What is your full name?

7 Gender 1. Male 2. Female

8 What is your contact number(s)?

9 What is the highest level of education that you have completed? Do not prompt: Single Answer

1. No education 2. Graduated from primary 3. Graduated from intermediate 4. Graduated from secondary 5. Graduated from technical institute 6. Graduated from university

Business Profile

10 What is the name of the company/business/workshop/home-based workplace?

11 What is the type of activity of your company/business/workshop/home-based workplace? Do not prompt: Single Answer.

1. Agriculture and livestock 2. Manufacture of food products and beverages 3. Manufacture of furniture and wood products 4. Carwash 5. Construction company and manufacture of

construction materials 6. Manufacture of carpets and rugs 7. Sewing/tailoring 8. Embroidery 9. Handicrafts 10. Caligraphy 11. Metalwork 12. Metal press


13. Tinsmith 14. Repairing of consumer electronics and computers

(TV, radio, refrigerator, air conditioner, fan, iron, etc.) 15. Repairing of mobile phone and tablets 16. Beauty salon (Beauty parlour/barber) 17. Repairing of electric motors, generators,

transformers, and other electric equipment 18. Repairing of machineries and equipment 19. Repairing of vehicles and motorcycles 20. Car and motor sales 21. Repairing of watches and clocks 22. Construction of buildings 23. Electric wiring 24. Carpentry 25. Plumbing 26. Restaurants and food service activities 27. Bakery 28. Printing and publishing 29. Wholesale trade 30. Retail trade 31. Transportation (including driving) 32. Banking and money lending services 33. Education (school, institute, university etc). 34. Health 35. Other (specify)

12 Is your business officially registered with the government ministry?

1. Yes 2. No 98. Don’t know

13 How many years ago did you start your current business activity?

Years ago

Labor and Employment

14 How many people work in your company/workshop/workplace (including yourself)?

(number). If 1, skip to Q21

15 Are the people that work in your company/workshop/workplace employees?

1. Yes (skip to Q17 2. No

16 What business relationship do you have with them?

1. Partner 2. Family member 3. Interns/trainees/apprentices

After getting answer to this question, skip to Q21

17 Among them, how many are your relatives (son, daughter, brother, sister, nephew, niece, cousin, etc.)?

(number).

18 Among them, how many are females? (number).

19 Among, them, how many have been forced to move here from other parts of the country?

(number).

20 In which age category are the majority of your employees/co-workers? Prompt: Single Answer

1. Less than 16 years? 2. 16-24 3. 25-45 4. 46-65


21 Is it easy to find workers in this area that possess the technical skills required by your company/workshop/workplace?

1. Yes 2. No 98. I don’t know

What are the main technical skills you look for when you hire new people?

22 What are the biggest challenges you face when trying to hire employees? Do not prompt: Multiple Answers

1. There are few workers with the right technical skills or experience available in this area (shortage of supply)

2. There are skilled workers but the demand for these skilled workers is high

3. Workers lack communication skills 4. Workers lack adaptability 5. Workers lack trustworthiness 6. Workers demand high salary/remuneration 7. Workers are mostly unaware of vacancies/ it is

difficult to advertise jobs 8. Other (specify)

98. Don’t know 99. Not applicable (haven’t hired any employees)

23 Normally, how do you recruit your employees? Do not prompt: Multiple Answers

1. Through friends 2. Through relatives 3. Though friend of applicant who is working in the

company/workplace 4. Through relative of applicant who is working in the

company/workplace 5. Through the mosque 6. Through the bazaar 7. Through social gatherings (weddings etc.) 8. Job advertisement in a local newspaper 9. Social Media 10. Job advertisement in a local radio/TV 11. Job advertisement on a window/board at your

business or community 12. Through using an HR company 13. Other (specify)

99. Not applicable (haven’t recruited any employees)

24 Have you hired any employees within the past year?

1. Yes - Skip to Q26 2. No

25 Why didn’t you hire any employees? Do not prompt: Multiple Answers

1. There are no skilled laborers in the market 2. The available laborers are not willing to work due to

low labor market rates 3. Insufficient profit to hire extra staff 4. I didn’t have any vacancies 5. I didn’t hire employees because I did not know them

personally through personal contacts 6. There were no available local workers I trusted 7. There were no available IDPs and Returnees I

trusted 8. Other (specify)

26 Do you plan to hire more employees in the next 1 year?

1. Yes (skip to Q28 2. No


98. Don’t know (skip to Q 28)

27 Why would you not hire any employees? Do not prompt: Multiple Answers

1. There are no skilled laborers in the market 2. The available laborers are not willing to work due to

low labor market rates 3. Insufficient profit to hire extra staff 4. I don’t have any vacancies 5. I don’t know available workers personally or through

contacts 6. There are no available local workers I trust 97. Other (specify)

28 When you hire potential employees, what is the most important factors you look for in them? Do not prompt: Multiple Answers

1. Education 2. Marital status 3. Age (should be older) 4. Age (should be youth) 5. Gender (should be male) 6. Gender (should be female) 7. Technical skills/qualification required for my business 8. Communication skills 9. Punctuality 10. Adaptability to new context 11. Ability to work in team environment 12. Attention to details 13. Work experience 14. Place of origin – should be local 15. Should be IDP 16. Personal connections (I should know someone who

knows them) 17. Trustworthiness/honesty 18. Someone who accepts lower wages 19. No specific characteristics 20. Other

99. Not applicable

29 How many home-based employees do you have?

______________ (number) (If 0 skip to Q30)

How many of your home-based employees are females?

______________ (number)

30 Do you accept apprentices/trainees at your company/workplace by teaching them the required technical skills?

1. Yes (skip to Q32) 2. No

31 What are the reason(s) for not accepting them? Do not prompt: Multiple Answers

1. I have no space in my workshop/business 2. I have no vacancies to accept more employees

(apprentices) 3. It costs too much to train new people 4. They are not trustworthy 5. I would like to but there are no trainees/apprentices

to teach 6. There is no one to provide them with good references 7. Other (specify):______________

After getting this answer, skip to Q37

32 Who arranges the apprenticeships/trainees?

1. Our own business directly 2. A technical training institute


Prompt: Single Answer

3. The government 4. NGOs 5. Other (specify)

33 How many apprentices/trainees has your business trained over the past 1 year?

______________ (apprentices)

34 How long in duration do you usually train apprentices/trainees for?

______________ (months)

35 How much do you pay apprentices/trainees per week? Prompt: Single Answer

1. Less than 10,000 IQD 2. Between 10,000 IQD and 20,000 IQD 3. Between 20,000 IQD and 30,000 IQD 4. More than 30,000 IQD 5. Tips/benefits 6. They are not paid

36 How often are apprentices/trainees recruited as salaried employees? Prompt: Single Answer

1. Always; all people chosen for training are meant to be employed later on.

2. More than half of the trainees are usually reemployed.

3. Less than half of the trainees. 4. Only a few of them. 5. None of them

37 If there was an organization that helped match suitable apprentices/trainees with your business, and paid them a stipend during their apprenticeship, would you be interested in having apprentices/trainees?

1. Yes 2. No 99. I don’t know

Why not? 1.

38 Do you accept young newly graduated individuals for as employees in your company/workplace?

2. Yes (Skip to Q40) 3. No

39 What are the reasons for not accepting them? Do not prompt: Multiple Answers

1. I have no space in my workshop/business 2. I have no vacancies to accept more employees 3. They lack work experience 4. I cannot afford to pay their salaries (business not

running profitably) 5. They are not committed to work 97. Other (specify):_______________

40 Do you sign a written contract with your employees?

1. Yes (skip to Q42) 2. No

41 Please explain your employment arrangement with employees

42 On average, how many hours per day do your fulltime employees/workers in this workplace work?

______________ (hours)

Establishing a business

43 What do you think is the minimum amount of capital needed to launch a small business in the same sector as yours?

______________ (IQD)


44 Where did you get the capital/money from, for starting your own business? Do not prompt: Multiple Answers

1. From my relatives/friends (as a gift – don’t need to pay them back)

2. From my relatives/friends (as a loan – need to pay back)

3. From microfinance institutions 4. From the banks 5. It was my own savings/capital 6. Other (specify):______________

98. I don’t know

45 If you needed to get a loan from a bank or microfinance institution to expand your business now, do you think you would be able to?

1. Yes (skip to Q47) 2. No 98. Don’t know (skip to Q47)

46 Why not?

47 Do you own or rent this space? 1. I own it (skip to Q49) 2. I rent it 3. Neither own nor rent (skip to Q49)

48 How much do you pay in rent for this space each month?

______________ (IQD)

49 On average, what is your business’s monthly net income (revenue minus expenses) currently? If the respondent doesn’t know for sure, tell him to guess

______________ (IQD)

50 Compared with one year ago, has your business’ income changed? Prompt: Single Answer

1. Increased 2. Stayed the same 3. Decreased 4. My business was not operational one year ago

98. Don’t know

Market and Business Prospects

51 How do you see your business in the next two years? Prompt: Single Answer

1. Quite successful – business expansion (skip to Q53) 2. About the same as now (skip to Q53) 3. Not very successful – business contraction

98. I don’t know (skip to Q53)

52 Why?

53 Compared with one year ago, what is the level of market competition now in your business sector? Prompt: Single Answer

1. Higher 2. The same 3. Lower 4. There is no competition at all

98. Don’t know

54 From you point of view, what do you think will happen in your sector in the next 2 years? Prompt: Single Answer

1. It will be a booming sector (skip to Q56) 2. It will remain the same (skip to Q56) 3. It will get smaller

98. I don’t know (skip to Q56)

55 Why?

56 What do you think are the main reasons why some businesses in your sector or local area fail to be successful?

1. Lack of good business management/book-keeping 2. Lack of marketing of products 3. Lack of adequate initial capital 4. Lack of access to finance


Do not prompt: Multiple answers

5. Lack of pre-established connections with market actors (e.g. suppliers, customers, intermediaries)

6. Lack of availability of skilled workers 7. Lack of knowledge of the market and market prices 8. Inability to source quality products to sell 9. Lack of access to electricity 10. Other (specify)

98. Don’t know

57 According to what you know, what types of businesses do you think are in high demand and are the most profitable at the moment? Do not prompt: Multiple Answers

1. Agriculture and livestock 2. Manufacture of food products and beverages 3. Manufacture of furniture and wood products 4. Carwash 5. Construction company and manufacture of

construction materials 6. Manufacture of carpets and rugs 7. Sewing/tailoring 8. Embroidery 9. Handicrafts 10. Caligraphy 11. Metalwork 12. Metal press 13. Tinsmith 14. Repairing of consumer electronics and computers

(TV, radio, refrigerator, air conditioner, fan, iron, etc.) 15. Repairing of mobile phone and tablets 16. Beauty salon (Beauty parlour/barber) 17. Repairing of electric motors, generators,

transformers, and other electric equipment 18. Repairing of machineries and equipment 19. Repairing of vehicles and motorcycles 20. Car and motor sales 21. Repairing of watches and clocks 22. Construction of buildings 23. Electric wiring 24. Carpentry 25. Plumbing 26. Restaurants and food service activities 27. Bakery 28. Printing and publishing 29. Wholesale trade 30. Retail trade 31. Transportation (including driving) 32. Banking and money lending services 33. Education (school, institute, university etc). 34. Health 35. Other (specify) 98. Don’t know

labor market assessment · 2018-05-28 · mercy corps labor market assessment: khanaquin, diyala 2...

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