LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network with more than 238 million members worldwide and nine million in the MENA region, said it had surpassed the one million professional member milestone in Saudi Arabia.

The growing LinkedIn member base in Saudi Arabia is indicative of the growing interest in professional networking as well as the depth of talent that the country has to offer.

According to LinkedIn data analysis, the platform is used by specific groups and professionals with diverse skill sets.

Top findings from the analysis include:

• The top three skills found on LinkedIn profiles in KSA are management, sales and training

• The top three universities whose students are on LinkedIn in KSA are King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Jamiat Al-Malik Saud and Jamiat Al-Malik Abdulaziz

• The top three industries members in Saudi Arabia belong to are construction, oil & energy and health care

• The top three companies in Saudi Arabia with the most number of employees on LinkedIn include Saudi Aramco, SABIC and Saudi Telecom Company (STC)

In addition, the growing adoption of smart devices in Saudi Arabia has led to an increase in the number of LinkedIn members accessing the platform from mobile devices.

Globally, over 33 percent of LinkedIn members access the website through mobile devices and with 200 percent mobile penetration in Saudi Arabia, professionals in the country have another way to engage with their professional network on the go.

“It’s great to see over a million Saudi-based professionals already using LinkedIn to give them the edge, not just in looking for new jobs, but to make them more productive and successful in the job they already have,” said Ali Matar, head of talent solutions, LinkedIn MENA.

“As well as letting our local members establish their online professional identity, LinkedIn allows professionals to connect to their network of trusted contacts and access new business insights,” he said.

“Across the MENA region, we have grown to nine million members from five million at the time of launching our regional operations and this expanding network of professionals will, help professionals in KSA to discover opportunities from right across the region, build relationships in a professional context and drive growth for the local economy,” added Ali Matar.

Increasingly, Saudi based entities including The Ministry of Commerce and Saudi Telecom Company (STC) are utilizing LinkedIn’s Talent Solutions to identify and recruit top talent in the country.

By using LinkedIn, companies can identify and secure the best candidates more quickly and more cost effectively than if they had relied on traditional recruitment tools.

Nawaf Saad Al-Shalani, general manager, corporate communications at Saudi Telecom Company said, “LinkedIn is unique, in a way that it helps address a cross-section of our other stakeholders such as potential employees, partners, business segment, media and in certain cases even government, in addition to customers. As in the past, we will continue to leverage upon the strengths of LinkedIn and consolidate our presence and partnership with LinkedIn both as an interactive platform as well as a service for our customers.”

Companies, such as Mobily and Zain KSA are also leveraging LinkedIn to deliver targeted advertising campaigns to clients and prospects through the company’s Marketing Solutions.

LinkedIn launched its MENA operations in October 2012 and has a global member base of over 238 million professionals.

Alhamedi Alanezi is one of LinkedIn’s earliest users from Saudi Arabia, having been a member for almost a decade.

As a business leader, he has successfully used LinkedIn to build his network across the world to find business leads, participated in LinkedIn Groups and as a passive candidate, he has been regularly reached out to by head-hunters.

Award winning student, Fahad Al-Saud from the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals is also an entrepreneur, having established his own security services firm.

LinkedIn has provided him with insights on running a business and has helped him gain access to professionals and build his network which in turn has helped him grow his own business and professional identity.

Amr Al-Afandi is the former director general at the Ministry of Labor and now continues to work with the Ministry in his role as a senior adviser.

An early LinkedIn adopter in Saudi Arabia, Amr has tapped into the potential of LinkedIn to help drive growth and create employment opportunities for Saudi professionals.

Recognizing that recruitment strategy is critical to achieve business success, he used LinkedIn to identify candidates, matching job opportunities to available talent.

On a personal level, Amr has successfully uses the platform to strengthen his professional network, but also share insights about his industry and gain knowledge from professionals across the world.