DAMMAM, 24 March — Unemployment in the IT sector is increasing at an alarming rate. Experts say that this phenomenon is not confined to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries but is true all over the world. There has been a subsequent near-panic in many institutions which specialize in teaching information technology.
John Timothy, an Indian IT expert working with CISCO, admitted the situation was bad in India and that the number of unemployed was increasing. “Once again it has started picking up though not at the same rate as in the past.”
Saad Al-Onaizi, a Saudi IT expert and owner of a computer training institute in the Eastern Province, said, “It is a natural phenomenon. It is a supply and demand situation; in the past, the sector was expanding and there was a great demand for certain skills. Now the sector has reached a stabilization point so the demand will naturally decrease.”
Muhammad Al-Marzooq, another Saudi computer expert who owns a shop in Qatif, says that it is wrong to say that demand is decreasing or that the IT sector has reached saturation point. “At least in the Kingdom, the IT industry will still expand. The problem here is that the application of information technology has not reached all the sectors as in many developed and Western countries.” He added that it was important to launch an awareness campaign in business circles so that the use of information technology expands.
Hadi Al-Qahtani, professor of computer sciences at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, admitted that the rush for admissions in computer technology was on a decline and that students were now going into other branches of engineering in the university.
Most of the unemployed in the Saudi IT industry are expatriates of Asian origin. Most Saudis with IT expertise have fairly lucrative positions. “You will find few unemployed Saudi computer experts,” according to a spokesman for the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Explaining the reason for the increasing unemployment among foreign IT personnel in the Kingdom, the spokesman said that many have been replaced by trained Saudis. “One must accept the reality that a qualified Saudi will eventually replace a foreign worker and that this will happen in all fields.”
Only two years ago the Kingdom’s IT industry was very lucrative for Asian IT personnel and it offered attractive packages. A computer graduate with a few years experience could have been offered something like SR10,000 per month plus benefits perks. Now for the same job he could not hope to get more than SR3,000. Three years ago, a contracting company supplying computer specialists and IT personnel to Saudi Aramco offered a salary of SR15,000 per month; today the same company is offering SR4,000 for the same job.
Courses such as MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) and CCNA which were once guarantees of lucrative positions no longer mean good pay packet. Hundreds of MCSEs in the Eastern Province are working as technicians with a base salary from SR1,000 to SR1,500.
Experts maintain that it is wrong to say that the IT industry has reached a saturation point. The KFUPM professor says, “The technology is developing and growing and every other day, new applications and new systems are introduced. ” All the experts, however, agree that in Saudi Arabia the technology has yet to mature as many sectors have not realized the value of information technology. “They don’t understand that its application would enhance performance and increase productivity,” the professor points out.