“Saudis have proved their capabilities in various productive areas, accepting challenges,” the minister said while addressing a press conference in Jeddah late Saturday night.

He blamed “inherited negative convictions” for the failure of Saudization in the private sector in the past years. “Although the number of Saudis among the private sector work force is meager, their success stories provide good tidings about a bright future as it would make the labor market more Saudi friendly and help it achieve sustainable development,” he said.

Fakeih stressed the need for creating a conducive atmosphere for Saudization by promoting a culture of work among Saudis, enhancing their production efficiency and increasing their participation in development projects.

“Employers dealing with Saudis on the basis of stereotypes is one of the major challenges facing Saudization endeavors,” the minister said. “These stereotypes have developed a kind of enmity between employers and Saudi workers.”

He said the ministry’s officials have discovered a large number of success stories among Saudis in the private sector as they do their duties in a professional manner, which qualified them for promotions.

Earlier, Fakeih launched the ministry’s campaign titled “Let us cooperate to nationalize jobs.” The campaign aims at removing misconceptions and stereotypes in the labor market and creating a good impression about Saudi workers.

During the launch ceremony, Fakeih honored six outstanding young Saudis who were able to convert their simple jobs into important ones as a result of their hard work and dedication. The six are: Aymen Al-Dossary, Bandar Muhammad, Saeed Al-Shahrani, Saleh Al-Anazi, Abdul Rahman Rabie and Wadhah Al-Turki.

The ministry’s campaign targets three groups — owners of companies, human resource managers, and Saudi jobseekers. It hopes that the campaign would contribute to creating more jobs for Saudis. The campaign also encourages Saudis to improve their capabilities and skills as well as productivity to win the satisfaction of employers. It also aims to remove the negative attitude of some Saudis toward some professions.