JEDDAH: The Ministry of Education and Saudi Arabian Airlines have signed an agreement to send 5,000 students on foreign scholarship program during the next five years in order to specialize in aviation and aircraft maintenance.

Education Minister Azzam Al-Dakhil and Saudia’s Director General Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser signed the deal during a function at Prince Sultan Aviation Academy in Jeddah.

The national carrier will provide the newly recruited trainees including secondary school graduates and bachelor’s and master’s degree holders with jobs such as assistant pilots and maintenance technicians after training.

As per the agreement, the ministry will allocate 1,000 scholarships for higher studies in commercial aviation and aircraft maintenance every year and send the selected students to the US.

Al-Dakhil said he was happy over signing this important agreement with Saudia, adding that it would create employment opportunities for thousands of young Saudi men and women in the national carrier.

The minister commended the airline’s exemplary program that brings together foreign scholarship, training and employment.

“This reflects our joint efforts to educate and train highly qualified national cadre required by our country’s development process, which is one of the main objectives of the king’s foreign scholarship program,” he said.

“I am looking forward to the day when our scholarship students would return back to the country to take part in the nation-building endeavors,” the minister said.

Al-Jasser said the scholarship program coincides with Saudia’s 2020 strategic plan to take the airline to greater heights, doubling its fleet and number of passengers during the next five years.

“This is a big plan for change and transformation that demands the presence of highly qualified national cadre, matching with the progress achieved by the airline and its affiliated companies and strategic units,” he said.

He emphasized the constructive cooperation between the Education Ministry and Saudi Airlines.

“This program aims at providing training and education to 3,000 students in aviation and 2,000 others in aircraft maintenance,” the DG said, adding that it would meet the organization’s future manpower requirements.

“We would like to continue this positive cooperation between the Education Ministry and Saudia to boost the Kingdom’s development in all sectors,” he said.