IT is obvious that the policy of Saudization is only targeting low-level jobs. The Ministry of Labor is doing things this way because it is the easiest way to employ large number of citizens who have been on waiting lists for a long time.
There was no reason for Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi to dress and work as a waiter in a local restaurant in order to convince Saudis to take such low-status jobs. What he needed to do was to look at what the job would give them as the salaries offered do not even cover their transportation ex-penses?
The problem does not lie in the unwillingness of Saudis to do such jobs. Rather it is in what such jobs will give them in return financially at a time when the cost of living is continuously rising.
In fact, the Ministry of Labor is facing a huge task and is dealing with it by itself. While it is making efforts to force companies to employ more Saudis, other ministries are giving expatriates jobs that could be easily filled by Saudis. So it is imperative that all roles are integrated and that the process of Saudization emanates from clear-cut strategies consisting of all kinds of jobs and not only the low-status ones.
The integration of roles between ministries does not mean that Jabara Al-Seraisry (minister of transport) should work as a driver and Hamad Al-Manie (minister of health) as a nurse.
I also see a contradiction between the attempts of the Ministry of Labor to Saudize the low-status jobs and the endeavors to upgrade some academic institutions to universities. This would be acceptable if our universities were graduating students who could fulfill the needs of our labor market. However, what will happen is that the institutions will graduate students who have no real skills or abilities but who, at the same time, will be unwilling to take a low-status job.
Theoretically, Saudization should not be a difficult process. Isn’t it surprising that the Kingdom, which hosts six million foreigners, is unable to provide jobs for half a million unemployed Saudis?
