The Kingdom’s ongoing need to generate job opportunities and provide training for Saudi youth is top of the agenda at the three-day Saudi CSR Forum from Monday at the Park Hyatt Hotel Jeddah.

The forum is a global event that is being held for the first time in Saudi Arabia.

“We have prepared a comprehensive program focused on the role of CSR in addressing the Kingdom’s priorities,” said Sally Corander, divisional director for IIRME and event organizer.

Abdurahman Alsum, senior sustainability development and environment, Maaden, one of the speakers at the CSR Summit, said: “Leadership and investing in talent development are key to generating employment. Maaden’s total investment in training and development exceeded SR50 million last year and by the end of 2012, we had achieved a Saudization rate of 66 percent.”

Commenting on the gap between the education system and job market, Alsum said: “The answer to bridging the skill gap is in addressing another gap, namely the ability of the private and public sectors to work together in skills development. “For example, in 2012, Maaden established the Saudi Mining Polytechnic (SMP) to bridge the market gap for skills in the mining sector.”