JEDDAH, 10 January — Local companies grappling to come to grips with Saudization are hoping to find practical solutions during the forthcoming 2nd annual Saudization forum here.
In keeping with its mission, "An essential update for business professionals involved in building the Kingdom's national workforce," it aims to provide an area for the interchange of ideas and strategies to tackle pressing issues, including the current desperate skill shortage among Saudi workers. Over two days, it will bring together businessmen from both the public and private sectors.
"Many private companies are concerned that the current Saudization drive, which aims to replace 65 percent of foreign workers with Saudis, can only be achieved by sacrificing growth," said Ghassan Al-Sulaiman, chairman of the board of Training Department, at the Chamber of Commerce in Jeddah.
Ghassan, who will be a key speaker at the forum to be held on Feb. 25 at the Inter.Continental Hotel in Jeddah, emphasized that in the face of increasingly fierce international competition for world-class employees, companies here will be left no other choice but to "pick from the bottom of the barrel."
"Finding a solution for the Saudization issue, which has been discussed for the past 30 years, requires a concerted effort and a holistic approach," Ghassan said, adding that the creation of new jobs was vital to absorb the influx of Saudis entering the job market in the coming years.
