JEDDAH, 5 July 2005 — The King Fahd Employment Center, which in the first stage will set up branches in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, plans to set up a database on unemployed Saudis and job opportunities in the Kingdom. It will also provide young Saudis with employment guidance.
Labor Minister Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi said Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd has given SR40 million to the center, which will be established by the Manpower Development Fund. The fund signed an agreement with the Austrian Chamber of Commerce on Sunday to provide consultancy service to the center.
Referring to the new labor law, which has been passed by the Shoura Council, Gosaibi said it protects the rights of both employees and employers. The law also allows an employer to terminate services of an employee if it was essential, he explained.
He ruled out cancellation of end-of-service benefits (ESB) of employees in the private sector. “It’s impossible,” Al-Eqtisadiah Arabic daily quoted him as saying.
The minister admitted there had been cases of rights violations against foreign workers in the Kingdom.
“But this has not become a phenomenon. There are means to prevent such violations and the ministry is currently working to develop and activate such means to make them more effective,” he said.
“The employment center reflects King Fahd’s concern toward Saudi jobseekers,” Gosaibi said after officiating at the signing ceremony at his Riyadh office. He said the center would play a big role in intensifying the ministry’s Saudization drive.
“The center is aimed at facilitating employment of Saudis,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the minister as saying. “It will also act as a link between Saudi jobseekers and employers in the private sector,” he explained.
The center will also help Saudi students identify their skills in order to select their vocation, courses and jobs. “It will provide special attention to the people with special needs,” Gosaibi said.
The center’s services will be free of charge, he added.
Asked why Austria was selected for consultancy, Gosaibi said the European country was successful in its efforts to control unemployment. The number of jobless in Austria does not exceed seven percent, he pointed out.
Nidhal Mohamed Ridwan, a member of Gosaibi’s advisory council, said the center should have adequate funds to carry out its mission perfectly.
He also called for coordination between educational and training institutions and the private sector to ensure supply of qualified Saudi hands to meet job market requirements.
