RIYADH, 28 February 2006 — A training and development forum to address the manpower challenges arising out of the Kingdom’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will be held at King Faisal Hall here from May 1 to 3.
Preparing the manpower for the knowledge society will be a strategic element of the training program. A total of 2,673 new schools and colleges, 50 new technical colleges and 108 training institutes are to be set up at a cost of SR276 billion over the next five years to groom 76,000 new ICT trainees for international competitiveness.
This was revealed at a press conference held by the Saudi Management Society (SMA), whose president, Abdullah Al-Shidadi, said the forum is being organized under the guidance of Minister of Labor Ghazi Al-Gosaibi.
The topics on the forum agenda include the realities of the knowledge society on global, regional and local levels; the requirements of education and training for work in the knowledge society; the role of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) in the future of training to ensure the competitiveness of the labor force.
Other topics of discussion will be the needs of the labor market and the partnership between the private and public sectors; the Kingdom’s education and training plans and the role of the private sector; the implications of the Kingdom’s training needs resulting from joining the WTO; and the latest training technologies and best technological solutions.
A number of speakers from official and academic organizations from within and outside the Kingdom will present papers seeking to provide input on successful international experiments in terms of human resources development.
Al-Shidadi said the knowledge and skills that a country’s labor force possesses count more than its physical capital for determining economic and social progress in the new world economy. “Governments and policy makers worldwide have recognized the need for new forms of training, ones that address the new requirements resulting from the shift toward the knowledge society, and where access and adoption of the latest ICT solutions are core elements of the new training strategies.”
He said the SMA’s objectives of holding this event are to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experience between professionals and those responsible for the development of human resources, in addition to development of relationships between the agencies and professionals involved in this sector.
The forum would seek to diagnose weaknesses and obstacles facing training and human resources development. Workshops and training seminars will be part of the forum’s program and its proceedings. These concurrent events will feature a number of experts from various fields.
A number of women experts and academics are participating in the event. The association expects a key role for women participants and for the training centers and national organizations offering training programs and services for women.
According to Akram Masri, technical director of Intermedia Arabia, organizers of the event, upgraded training programs will be the wave of the future as the Kingdom heads for the development of the knowledge society. An allocation of SR87.3 billion has been set aside for education and vocational training this year alone, he added.
