These days, there is a hot debate over the concept of “retirement”, where it is only rational for the older adults to leave their positions to be taken by the youth. This has led to the realization that we have failed to successfully train competent managers and human resources and there are shortcomings in this regard. First of all, I need to clarify an issue so that my note is not misunderstood.

We have an abundant number of motivated, efficient and young workforce in Iran. Evidently, we see young individuals in all cities and villages who have passed the path of improvement despite their problems, empowering themselves in cultural, scientific, and art fields or in some professional areas. Not only there is a high number of artists and creativity owners in Iran, but also we have an abundant number of efficient workforces, compared to other countries.

The fact that other countries recruit Iranian emigrants more than others in their market and leave important responsibilities for these individuals is due to more effectiveness and experiences of the creative Iranians. Specifically, those who were born in the 80s are among the science, art, industry, and technology elites. These people studied and acquired experiences when we had crisis in the country, including the Iran-Iraq war, shortcomings in the country, education system problems, and specific political and social conditions. All of these have made the individuals born in the 80s more tolerant to problems.

The people born in the 80s have a higher strength, compared to the previous and future generations. Therefore, their perception of the world is beyond their age. It seems that they are 30 or 40 years old but have acquired valuable experiences over the course of events in Iran, which have made them 20 years older than their actual age. Therefore, they can accept important responsibilities with no concern and fear and pave their way to a bright future with no stress.

In fact, those who were assigned important responsibilities have yielded valuable success. This experience of the Vice-Presidency for science and technology affairs and ministry of information and the powerful presence of Sattari and Jahromi have taught us that we need to trust the youth and leave the whole work to them. No one denies the advantages of presence of the experienced older adults. We could definitely learn from these people, listen to their guidance and learn from their science and experiences. However, we need the youth in the area of administrative affairs who enter the field with a high energy level and manage everything.

We are faced with a dynamic and joyful group of people in the Vice-Presidency for science and technology affairs and the national elites foundation, who are the same age as Sattari and Jahromi and each can manage a ministry and carry out the work of this country and make the impossible possible alone.

However, there is a problem to our path that must be eliminated. Unfortunately, we have not designed a precise and clear system in the administrative and organizational system to identify active and creative forces, and have failed to recognize those who can create the future of the country and invest in their education. We should have designed a system that would identify and educate future managers of the country, and provide responsibility to them.

However, the national elites foundation and some state centers have been somehow successful in this area and have taken effective steps in this path. Nonetheless, I speak on a more generalized term and say that we do not have a clandestine system for identifying and educating political, economic, scientific and industry officials and it is very likely that some of the talented individuals fail to become valuable managers and be left unnoticed for any reason.

It is an old saying that “horses for courses”, and God has given everyone the ability to do something or certain things. If we give managerial positions to artists, not only it is a cruelty against art but also we have betrayed the country’s bureaucracy system. Not all people are going to be managers and not all individuals must have creative responsibilities. However, it is supposed for everyone to be content with their business, love their work and put the necessary efforts to improve their condition.

One of the reasons for recognizing office work a boring job since employees have a hard time during their working hours and just check the time until the end of their work day is that there is no systematic government bureaucracy for identifying the interests of individuals, and all employees are regarded the same and there is no other expectation than work from them. In factories, workers are obligated to carry our defined but torturing jobs. About one hundred years ago, Charlie Chaplin mocked the working environment of workers in the mechanical systems by creating the “Modern Times” movie, demonstrating how hard it would be to work in such boring and disappointing places that have no spirit. It is notable that the managers and employers have a hard time the same as workers and employees since they neglect the interests and abilities of their workers and employees and the system suppresses any creativity and joy in these individuals. More importantly, we have failed to find and train educated and competent managers.

It is often clear from the school years of individuals that who will become a manager and will be able to show unique abilities in small and big positions. It does not need special intelligence and we can see with our own eyes that which children can be turned into a manager, artist, worker or businessman in the future. The majority of state authorities were selected from the political prison of the era of oppression, from domestic and foreign academic associations, from hawzas, and most importantly, from behind the war front after the revolution. The background of fight and war were reliable parameters that would help the system to leave responsibilities to Omar and Zeyd the best way possible and based on experiences and evaluation of the individuals. Especially during war, we had a unique opportunity to distinguish the creative individuals from non-creative ones.

Now and after 30 years of the war, how can we recognize the managers of the country? As I explained before, we had a chance at the time of war to recognize the engineering and management elites. The major burden of constructor was on the shoulder of those commanders who advanced the war. However, most of these individuals are old now and are not as capable as their youth. Now, we are in a situation that younger managers must come to the field and inject their energy and powers into the organizations.

However, it is important to point out that we have not prepared ourselves for big changes and have failed to identify the new generation accurately. Therefore, these changes has increased the stress level of old managers, who are worried that the new generation is unable to get the work done. These concerns are not irrational but show that the majority of the administrative managers do not know the young generation of the country and are unaware of their abilities and talents. The only person who truly believes the ability of the youth and has supported them with a big heart is our Supreme Leader. In the beginning of the revolution, he introduced the youth as newly pledged individuals and had no doubt in leaving big responsibilities to these people.

Both Ayatollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei do not say things to be sweet for various generations and when they say something, they really mean it. There are clear signs that despite a recognition system in the bureaucratic system of the country, our Supreme Leader has a clear understanding of the youth and completely knows their abilities, powers, and skills. In fact, any job left for the youth to this date has been due to the emphasis of the Supreme Leader and his good intentions have been proven in this regard. The Supreme Leader of Iran has had several meetings with various walks of life and has continuously followed-up the creative work of the youth in different fields. Every year, he has gone to the exhibition of discoveries and inventions of the youth, has followed up scientific and academic advances and has directly spoken to the youth and listened to their problems. In addition, we have witnessed several times that he has listened to the explicit words and harsh criticisms of the students like a father.

While there is no proper system for recognizing the youth, our Supreme Leader has personally put extensive efforts in recognizing the young generation. His constant presence in scientific and cultural centers, universities and different parts of the world, meeting with the scientific, sport, and art elites, and his talking with students and professors has provided this opportunity that after 40 years of the Islamic revolution, our Supreme Leader invites the youth to the field of work with no concerns and asks the older people to leave their positions to be taken by the motivated youth. He has initiated this issue himself by the latest appointments. Therefore, we can hope that a new space will be created in the management space of the country and there will be positive changes in this regard. However, all of these will not eliminate the need for designing a system for discovery and recognition of managers.

Parviz Karami

*Advisor to the Vice President for Science and Technology Affairs