JEDDAH, 16 July 2003 — Summer camps are proving popular this year as many high school students are staying in the Kingdom.

“Camaraderie, team spirit and punctuality are among the basic principles that we learn from camp life,” said 20-year-old Hatham Al-Shamri, who attended a camp that ended over the weekend.

He was one of 55 high school graduates from the Makkah region who took part in the camp, which was dedicated to a career in sales and marketing. Jobs in this sector are plentiful for young Saudis because of the ongoing Saudization drive.

“A career in sales and marketing is generally looked down on. The impression is that it involves merely delivering goods in vans or selling merchandise,” said Sultan Ibrahim Al-Ghamdi, 20, a high school graduate.

Rehab, another participant, said: “I was never inclined to take up a sales career, as I always thought a salesman was someone who moved from place to place to sell his merchandise.”

But now they think differently.

“The camp helped us a great deal,” said Raid Matooq Ashi, who attended summer camps in the past three years.

“After the camp, I know how important the role of a salesman is to a merchandising firm,” Sultan added. During the week-long camp held at the Jeddah InterContinental Hotel, Unilever Arabia and Beit Binzagr management executives gave lectures and conducted participants on a tour of factories and businesses.

“The campers had a busy schedule from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.,” said Abdul Rahman Al-Mufarreh, general manager at a marketing consultancy. “They had theory classes in the morning and afternoon visits to factories. They were also given lectures in IT, time management, communication skills and CV writing.”

“Ten of the campers have been offered sales jobs in our group,” said Muwaffaq Jamal, Unilever’s finance manager, who presented certificates to the campers.

“Sales jobs should not be looked down on; they are as good and remunerative as others in challenging fields. This was the message we wanted to give through the camp and we succeeded,” Jamal told Arab News. “We focused on the qualities required for salesmen and gave them some field experience.”

Jamal, and Talal Muhammad ibn Ali, Unilever’s Trademarks Department manager, said a professional team had been given the task of conducting activities including lectures at schools and colleges on subjects like human resources, engineering and finance, sales and marketing. “We have separate interactive programs for girls,” he said.