JEDDAH: The Human Resources Development Fund (HADF) spent close to SR 500 million to train 2,051 unemployed youth for in-demand jobs in the Saudi employment market in 2011, a report said.
The HADF’s job training program, called Maher 12/12, trains unemployed youth free of charge prior to entering the job market.
“The Maher 12/12 covers job training in areas such as health, engineering, information technology, administration, travel and tourism, finance and insurance,” HADF's recently published annual report for 2011 said.
While 1,051 job seekers accounting for 51 percent of the selected candidates chose the health sector, 619 people accounting for 30 percent opted for training in an engineering profession under the Maher 12/12 project, the report said.
The report added that 152 applicants accounting for 8 percent of the total selected trainees wanted to be IT professionals and 129 wanted training in administrative specializations last year.
The report also pointed out that students from Jazan Province topped the list of trainees with 37 percent, followed by Riyadh Province with 23 percent, Makkah with 18 percent and Qassim and the Eastern Province with 9 percent each.
The Maher 12/12 expects to provide training for 12,000 unemployed youth in 2012. The HADF selects youth for training in line with demand in the job market and makes arrangements with excellent training institutes to train them.
The HADF was established as a legal entity, with administrative and financial independence, by the Council of Ministers in 2000 with the aim of nationalizing jobs in the private sector. It is the HADF’s responsibility to prepare trained and qualified Saudi cadre of both genders capable of meeting the nation’s challenges ahead. The preparation of such cadres also serves to achieve the strategic goal of bringing about social, economic, and security progress in the country.
The HADF also shares with the private sector the expenses of preparing, training, and employing a national work force. It pays a percentage of the salary of any trainee who is hired by a private firm after he finishes his training. The same will be done for new recruits of the firm.
The HADF also offers financial assistance to programs in the field, along with projects, plans and studies that are aimed at employing Saudis and help them replace the expatriate work force, and provide loans to private establishments that prepare and train the national work force.
HADF spent nearly SR 500 m to train unemployed youth
