RIYADH, 27 January — A total of 150 Saudis signed contracts with private sector organizations at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry yesterday as part of an intensive training program for three categories of jobs — executive secretary, auto mechanic and salesman.

Sponsored by RCCI in collaboration with the General Organization for Technical and Vocational Training (GOTEVOT) and the Human Resources Development Fund, it seeks to train young Saudis for a career in the three professions as part of the government’s drive to replace expatriates holding those jobs.

"This is just the beginning. We hope more programs will be organized in future depending on the success of this experiment," Mohammed Abdullah Al-Swailem, manager of the vocational training center at RCCI, told Arab News. He added that RCCI has already started collecting data from the private sector for identifying more job opportunities for Saudis.

Spelling out the details of the scheme, he said the training scheme is open to Saudis who have either secondary or higher secondary education. The trainees were selected out of 860 candidates who had applied for the apprenticeship scheme. Of these, 500 candidates were short-listed for intensive hands-on training after they were evaluated and tested by GOTEVOT.

"Some 40 organizations from the private sector will provide training facilities to 150 candidates from those already selected. Today 28 organizations started signing contracts with these students for training and future employment in their organizations," the RCCI official said. The training period for salesman is for one year and for executive secretary and auto mechanic 18 months. The signing and selection process is expected to complete this week.

Al-Swailem said the short-listing was done by GOTEVOT on the basis of their educational qualifications and professional aptitude. Once the evaluation was through, GOTEVOT contacted private-sector organizations willing to join the scheme. It also evaluated the facilities of the prospective employer as well as the availability of trainers.

During training, each candidate will be paid SR1,000, of which HRD Fund will contribute SR750, while the employer will pitch in with the remaining amount. He said once the trainee is absorbed in the respective organization, HRD Fund will pay 50 percent of his salary for one year.

During a recent meeting chaired by Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Ali Al-Namlah, HRD’s board of directors approved a project to help create employment for hundreds of thousands of Saudi youths.

Under the plan the fund will subsidize salaries of well-qualified Saudis who join private companies directly after finishing their training.