RIYADH, 4 November — The Manpower Council has emphasized the need for creating more job opportunities for Saudis and training the national cadre to take up employment.
Interior Minister Prince Naif, who chaired a council meeting here yesterday, said: “Efforts should be made to employ Saudis in place of expatriates and create suitable atmosphere to encourage Saudis to take up all jobs required by the labor market.”
Nine ministers including Higher Education Minister Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari, Commerce Minister Osama Faqeeh, Labor and Social Affairs Minister Dr. Ali Al-Namlah, Finance and National Economy Minister Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf and Planning Minister Khaled Al-Gosaibi attended the meeting.
Other participants included Abdul Rahman Al-Jeraisy, chairman of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Abdullah Zainal, chairman of the Jeddah Chamber, and Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid, chairman of the Eastern Province Chamber.
According to a report issued by the Labor & Social Affairs Ministry, there are about 450,000 Saudis working in the private sector until the end of last month, showing an increase of 36,000 this year.
Ahmad Al-Mansour, deputy minister of labor, estimated that the number of Saudis in working age would reach 28 million by 2030.
“At the same time, there will be only 13 million jobs available for them. This means we have to conduct serious studies to create more jobs for young Saudis,” he added.
Al-Hayat Arabic newspaper reported yesterday that the government is likely to Saudize 147 professions.
The Labor Ministry has instructed six chambers of commerce and industry to train Saudis on 147 professions in preparation to Saudize these jobs.
The paper said Saudi authorities have issued more than 94,000 visas for labor jobs during the past two years, adding that laborers make an annual savings of SR293 million.
According to studies conducted by specialized agencies, the Saudi labor market will require 185,000 jobs by 2005 in the framework of the Seventh Five-Year Development Plan. The studies estimated the rate of unemployment among Saudis at about 14 percent.
