JEDDAH, 15 July 2003 — To meet the Saudization target of 30 percent of manpower in private companies, hotels in the Kingdom are busy recruiting and training Saudi staff.
“We have long-term management training programs of three to four years for graduates,” said Meshal Al-Nafea, the human resources director at Le Jeddah Meridien.
The hotel has no trouble filling top and mid-level positions. The problem is in recruiting and keeping low-level administrators and rank-and-file positions.
“We do suffer from this. So far we have reached 25 percent in this area and we hope by next year we’ll reach 30 percent,” Al-Nafea told Arab News.
The hotel began its Saudization program two years ago and Al-Nafea considers it a success despite these problems.
Recent statistics by the Supreme Commission for Tourism show that Saudis occupy only 16 percent of the positions in all Saudi hotels. There are 12 public and private colleges and training centers for tourism and hospitality services that are graduating Saudi employees for all job levels, according to a study by Dr. Ali Al-Shaabi, dean of Prince Sultan College for Tourism and Hotel Science. The study expects that 48 such training centers will be needed by the year 2020 to meet the demand of the growing hotel industry, particularly in the area of low-skilled labor.
The government requires that Saudis be given priority for positions in such departments as finance, sales and marketing, engineering, front office/housekeeping, food and beverage, and security.
“Saudis are sensitive about working in certain areas like housekeeping and the kitchen, but we have internal programs to train them and introduce them slowly to the work so they feel comfortable,” explained Al-Nafea.
The Meridien has been able to achieve 100 percent Saudization in some jobs like reception, security, and guest services, and employs many Saudis in reservations and accounting. “We also have one Saudi chef and a few Saudis in laundry services,” he said.
The biggest problem is the high turnover, because many Saudis want permanent, secure government jobs. “At the end of each month we lose two to three percent of our employees. Some of them get better offers at Saudi Arabian Airlines for example, or the electricity company.”
Lack of experience or English language skills are not an issue because the hotel trains staff and offers courses. “The Saudis we have are good employees. They are motivated, attentive and productive, and I do believe we will be able to replace all expatriates.”
Saeed Al-Ghamdi is a front office manager at the Sheraton Jeddah hotel. He began working there as a receptionist three years ago while studying accounting in college and graduated last year. “Competing with expatriates for jobs in the hotel industry is difficult because they tend to have more experience,” he told Arab News.
To improve his skills he took extra classes in English and computing. “Not all Saudis are lazy. Some of them are, but if you work hard here you will be rewarded,” he said.
Saudis now are looking for any kind of job. “Their ideas of the type of work they want are not what they were before,” said Al-Ghamdi. He considers the program of Saudization in hotels a success. “At the Sheraton, as with other hotels, there is now a Saudi chef, some bill-boys, receptionists and security guards.”
The problem, however, is in the low salaries. “I don’t think many Saudis will want to continue working in hotels, because there isn’t much income, especially in the low-level jobs where salaries start at SR2,000,” he said.
