JEDDAH, 9 March 2006 — If your car breaks down, chances are the man who fixes it will be a foreign worker. Only 5 percent of the Kingdom’s mechanics are Saudi, and approximately 5,000 nationals are needed as soon as possible to fulfill government Saudization targets in this vital blue-collar field.
This information was provided by the Saudi-Japanese Automobile High Institute (SJAHI), which was established in the late 1990s in order to provide technical job training for Saudi youth.
The SJAHI executive director told Arab News yesterday that the institute not only offers job training but also job placement with a base SR4,000 per month salary.
“What is special about this institute is that the job is guaranteed after graduation,” said Salim Al-Asmari. “Each accepted applicant signs a contract before he begins studying and training to work for one of the companies that works with the institute.”
The SJAHI accepts Saudi applicants below the age of 22. To qualify, applicants must be C-average or higher high school graduates from the sciences section. All the courses provided are the same courses given in equivalent institutes in Japan. The classes are taught in English.
“The institute was a result of King Abdullah’s visit to Japan in 1998 when he was still a crown prince,” said Al-Asmari. “He signed an agreement with Japan to set up this institute that benefits from the Japanese experience in the field of car maintenance and technology in accordance with vendors of Japanese cars in Saudi Arabia.”
Two classes of around 400 students have graduated from SJAHI, in September 2004 and August 2005. It takes the students two academic years to earn the technician diploma. Japanese experts and trainers of different nationalities teach the students using equipment imported from Japan.
