JEDDAH, 20 February 2007 — At a meeting held at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), owners of private training institutes expressed concern with the new rules issued by the General Organization of Technical Education and Vocational Training which includes an increase in insurance charge (now amounting to SR250,000).
Training institutes say that the new insurance rates are causing an increase in course prices and will ultimately lead to fewer people taking training. Attending the meeting were 50 owners and managers of different training centers and institutes.
Participants added that with more restrictions, investment into the sector will move abroad resulting in fewer Saudis taking advantage of the services provides at such training centers.
Participants also called for a need to reconsider the decision to increase insurance rates and stressed the role of training centers in developing the training sector and providing more qualified workers for the labor market. They also suggested the need for these problems to be discussed in the Shoura Council and at other senior government levels.
Adnan Mandoura, a senior JCCI official, said the meeting “agreed that bank insurance rates must decrease from SR250,000 to SR50,000. These private centers and institutes have contributed a great deal in the development of the vocational and training sectors. They provide even more qualified Saudis who are now going into different sectors.”
Salman Al-Zahrani, manager of Economic Community Training Center, said that the rise in prices would negatively affect training institutes and that the number of clients would also decrease. He added that private training sectors will be the first to get affected because charity organizations working in this domain are financially secure and are not obliged to abide to labor bylaws.
More than SR12 million have been invested in training and vocational centers. The percentage has increased by 30 percent within the last five years.
Specialists say that the most popular courses are training courses, rehabilitation and skill-building programs. English language and computer courses are also extremely popular. Second in demand are courses that train bank workers and health employees. The majority of participants at these courses are youth of both genders. Others are employees hoping to develop their skills in their respected professions.