SAUDI ARABIA WHERE YOUNG SAUDIS ARE NOW INSPIRED WITH HOPE OF LANDING JOBS FOLLOWING THE DEPARTURE OF THOUSANDS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM THE COUNTRY Sat, 2013-11-16 03:16 Young Saudis are now an inspired lot with hopes of landing jobs following the exit of thousands of illegal immigrants from the country. With the amnesty period behind, thousands of jobs and investment opportunities are opening up for Saudi citizens, both males and females. However, as challenging as it seems, the Saudi government has made significant steps to reform its labor market. “When all illegal workers are deported, we must take responsibility, and act positively to meet the market needs, along with awareness and education,” Maznan Al-Mutairi, a college student, said. “In any modern country, having fewer illegal workers is definitely a good sign for a better future,” 34-year-old Saeed Al-Shahrani said, adding: “But we must keep in mind some negative factors that may crop up like the high cost of building materials and labor costs.” The high unemployment rate among Saudis has driven the Labor Ministry to change work laws, aiming to achieve more Saudization. “The government’s intention is very clear — a great leap to nationalize jobs, and increasing economic growth,” said unemployed Abdulrahman Aldousi, 24. With the deportation of more and more illegal foreigners, there will be a large gap in the Saudi labor market, which needs to be filled right away, and that’s where the Saudis come in. The Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) has trained 116,000 young Saudi men and women to fill the gap in the labor market. The job openings are mainly in the construction, technical, electrical and mechanical fields. Fahad Al-Otaibi, official spokesman for the corporation, said the graduates have been trained in a number of professions that are needed by the labor market, which hitherto were occupied by undocumented foreigners. He said all training programs implemented by the corporation are aimed at qualifying national cadres and arm them with skills that are needed to join the labor market. The corporation’s training programs and curriculum are linked to the needs of the labor market, he said, adding that among the 36 technical colleges, the Boys Technical College in Riyadh got 4,187 job opportunities for its graduates — 3,819 of them in the private sector, and the rest in the government sector. Wrong focus Abdullah Al-Radwan, member of the National Contractor’s Committee, said the problem lay in the corporations output which is directed toward government employment because of job security. In addition to the general culture, there is a tendency to avoid working in small and medium-sized establishments. He said the contracting and construction sectors were among the biggest employers of the deported expatriate labor, and their work has been affected because of the deportation. “The solution lies in conducting awareness campaigns about vocational work in boys schools,” he said. Studies show that vocational jobs generate higher income than administrative jobs which are preferred by Saudi youth because of the absence of labor culture and societal constraints since some professions are frowned upon. Some companies almost stopped working, and contractors found themselves in trouble, because manual labor has become very scarce, he said.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 03:05:58 +0000
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