JEDDAH, 19 September 2006 — Saudi Arabia, which has made remarkable headway in manpower development, yesterday announced the formation of a large-scale private company with a capital of SR300 million that will establish modern training cities.
Abdul Aziz Al-Turki, one of the company’s founders, said its capital could increase to SR2 billion ($533 million) in the future. “We have already received preliminary approval from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry,” he said about the Dammam-based company.
The company’s first training city will be operational by 2008. By the year 2040, it plans to establish 23 such cities. In the first phase it will accommodate 1,500 students and by 2040 the number will increase to 174,000.
He said the company would conduct a survey of manpower requirements in the region. It will also make use of the experience of Malaysia and Western countries as well as that of local companies such as Saudi Aramco.
“We have set up an executive committee under the chairmanship of Khaled Al-Eidi in order to set out the company’s executive plan,” Asharq Al-Awsat daily quoted Al-Turki as saying.
He emphasized the significance of private companies entering the field of manpower training by forming big companies, adding that they would receive the support of all government departments and agencies including the Manpower Development Fund.
“We have received encouraging support from the Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals and the General Organization for Technical Education and Vocational Training (GOTEVOT),” he said.
Graduates of existing technical and vocational training institutes are insufficient to meet the Kingdom’s labor market needs, he pointed out. “As a result the opening of training cities will play a significant role in the Kingdom’s comprehensive development program,” he added.
A Cabinet meeting in May this year called for the private sector to invest in higher education projects, making use of the incentives offered by the government for such projects. It also urged more efforts to promote scientific and social research.
The Cabinet also instructed authorities to make use of Saudi academic expertise and sign agreements of cooperation with reputable research centers around the world for the purpose.
The Cabinet decision was significant in the backdrop of statistics that Arab countries collectively spend only 0.15 percent of their gross domestic product on research and development, which is well below the global average of 1.4 percent.
“The private sector has an important responsibility to invest in higher educational institutions, inspired by the incentives offered by the state for such investments and taking up its national and social role,” the Cabinet said.
As part of its efforts in manpower training, the government established new universities in different parts of the Kingdom including Tabuk, Baha, Qasim, Taif, Jizan, Al-Jouf and Hail.
The Kingdom gives top priority to education and manpower training. The current fiscal budget has allocated SR87.3 billion or 26 percent of the SR335 billion budget for the sector.
