RIYADH, 18 August 2003 — The Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry will launch next month three new training programs for young Saudis designed to put them through the basics of e-commerce, project management and personality development, with emphasis on time management and honing technical skills.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Shidadi, director of the training department at RCCI, told Arab News other courses would focus on law, computer science, website design, marketing, accounting, quality management, secretarial service and electronic maintenance.
The duration of courses varies from one year for the diploma courses to between three and ten days for short-term courses. The fee ranges from SR700 to SR1,000. The cost for Saudi trainees has to be borne by the employers, who may also absorb them at the end of the training program. The chamber has its own placement service to help out trainees by coordinating with private sector firms. He said around 400 trainees have enrolled for 14 courses tailored to the needs of the private sector. Up to 80 percent of the trainees are absorbed every year on completion of the program.
The chamber has set up a special employment cell for the benefit of the trainees completing the courses.
The chamber’s training programs have benefited thousands of young Saudis since the inception of the program in 1980. The contents of the course have undergone changes over the years in line with the requirements of the private sector. On average, 300-400 Saudis are enrolled annually.
The official said the medium of instruction was Arabic, although the technical terms are taught in English.
However, the Riyadh chamber is considering the launch of training programs in English in line with the requirements of the private sector.
A similar announcement has been made by Ali Al-Ghafis, governor of the General Organization for Technical and Vocational Training (GOTEVOT), who said technical colleges in the Kingdom would offer from next academic year courses only in areas for which there is a demand.
Currently, the Kingdom has eight universities, nine colleges for vocational and technical education, 18 colleges for teacher training and information technology, besides several medical and science colleges. Together, they enroll about 325,000 students, of whom 50 percent are girls.
