JEDDAH, 25 May 2004 — Twenty technical colleges will be established in the Kingdom at a total cost of SR1.15 billion. Thirteen technical institutes and 45 vocational training centers will also be set up, according to Ahmed Abuhaleeqa, director general of professional training at the General Organization for Technical Education and Vocational Training (GOTEVOT).
“These colleges will train some 60,000 young Saudis every year,” he said. The vocational training centers will train 36,000 while the technical institutes will educate 6,500 students every year and will cost SR700 million and SR144 million respectively, he said.
Abuhaleeqa said five vocational training centers would be established at prisons in Riyadh, Makkah, Jeddah, Dammam and Jizan.
“This program is aimed at helping prisoners to get jobs after completing their jail terms,” Al-Madinah quoted him as saying. An amount of SR20 million has been allocated for this part of the project.
GOTEVOT allocated another SR280 million for a military training program initiated by Crown Prince Abdullah as part of the government’s efforts to reduce the country’s unemployment rate. Under the program, 10,000 Saudis will be given training at GOTEVOT’s facilities in Riyadh, Alkharj and Jeddah every year in coordination with the ministries of defense and interior, he said.
The organization also plans to open new centers for women to train them to take up various jobs, the official said. GOTEVOT allocates 75 percent of its programs for practical training and the rest for theoretical studies.
Meanwhile, businessmen in Qateef have expressed their readiness to establish a number of projects at Qateef Prison. The prison’s director has earmarked a large area to be used by the businessmen who will not be required to pay any rent. The only requirement is to employ and pay prisoners. The businessmen are now studying projects that could be viable. There are proposals to open textile factories and workshops. There are 350 prisoners in jail who receive training in carpentry, electric work and handicraft.
