Two batches of women have so far graduated from the training.

The all-female NPC processing plant was built in 2008 at a cost of SR5 million. Although it has the potential to accommodate up to 400 people, the NPC presently only employs 20 women.

The factory was established according to international coastal farming industry standards under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture and the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Foundation.

Trainees are given coaching in peeling prawns at the plant’s processing plant.

Laurence Cook, director of corporate communications at NPC, said particular attention must be paid to hygiene and sanitation when it comes to peeling prawns.

“Prawns are normally peeled by hand. A skilled worker can peel 2 kg to 3 kg of whole prawn an hour,” he said.

Cook explained how 20 women have completed training and are now employed at the company.

He added that despite the success of the training program, there is a lack of adequately trained women in the region and that more needs to be done to employ women.

“The private-government partnership was a success in that the foundation housed them and the NPC employed them. The plant was built to accommodate 400 female employees and we only have 20 female employees working with us at present,” he added.

The Saudi government recently undertook a study of the role of women in the country’s economy. According to Cook, some of the goals expressed by Saudi Arabia’s Five-Year Plan (2005-2009) include enlarging the scope of economic activities available to women, encouraging the participation of women in the labor force, opening more economic sectors for women and encouraging women to think about science as an appropriate career.

“As the aquaculture industry is a relative new industry around the world … there is a lack of understanding or training amongst the local population whether male or female,” he said, adding that the Kingdom has also identified aquaculture production as a priority.

“We also need to remember that women around the world are preferred employees in shrimp processing factories, because of their small hands and keen eye for detail,” said Cook.

The women who work for NPC are all Saudis from the neighboring villages of Al-Laith and Al-Ghala. “

The majority are uneducated and we are working closely with the Ministry of Education to try and secure and develop further interest in the aquaculture industry,” Cook explained.

Iyad Madani, deputy president of the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Foundation for Housing Development and former Information Minster, visited Al-Ghala to inspect 186 newly built housing units.

Madani also stopped at the NPC.

Ahmad Al-Balaa, general manager of NPC, said a lack of local knowledge of this industry has reduced the number of women applying for jobs. He added that this is a matter that the company is working to resolve in cooperation with the Foundation.