JEDDAH, 22 July 2003 — Training centers have been mushrooming across Saudi Arabia, but their graduates remain unemployed because there is no direct communication between them and the employment market and they do not equip their students with the necessary skills.

It is against this background that a new training center has sprung up in North Jeddah to meet the requirements of Saudi job seekers. It has drawn up courses for unemployed Saudi professionals to develop their skills as well as for Saudis who are already in jobs to sharpen their skills, with a guaranteed place in the expanding employment market under the Saudization plan.

“This is not one more addition to an estimated 220 training centers across the Kingdom. It’s much more than that. Our vision is to see that all Saudis with skills and professions have jobs suiting their qualification and interest. Our ultimate objective is to create a reservoir of professionals and experts so that they are chased by employers rather than chasing the employers,” said A. Menem Addas, adviser in charge of Professionals.

Professionals is located in a newly-built double-story structure opposite the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s International Exhibition and Convention Center.

Addas is also professor of corporate finance and international business at the Institute of Business Administration and division chief of resources mobilization in the treasury department at the Islamic Development Bank.

“We’ve started enrolling Saudis who are already in jobs and desire to go up the ladder and even unemployed professionals who can readily find a placement in the profession of their choice,” he said.

“To begin with, we’re enrolling high school or unemployed graduates who want to enhance their skills and make them adequately qualified for jobs. The institute has capacity for 600 trainees. All our courses are interactive and begin in September, after the current summer break,” Addas said.

“We’ve listed the business sectors and professions that are readily available for Saudis. They include insurance, banking and finance, sales and advertising, and many others. On our part, we assist Saudi professionals already in work to find better jobs,” he said.

“We’re training a good number of Saudis involved in the insurance sector of the Kingdom. Executives who cannot afford to be out of a job for four years to pursue full-time courses will welcome our insurance courses. Similarly, we have courses tailor-made for banking and finance executives, especially in medium-sized companies. We’ve already signed contracts with 14 such companies across the kingdom to train their employees. We hope to train 1,500 employees in two years,” Addas said.

With demand for Saudis for sales and marketing becoming stronger day-by-day, the institute has come up with programs to train graduates, especially in the retail sector. “We aim to make sales careers attractive for young Saudis, who generally have been shying away from them,” he added. “We expect a large number of Saudis to join the sales force in different sectors of trade and industry.