RIYADH, 3 October 2004 — The Saudi-Japanese Automobile Institute (SJAHI) has produced 200 highly-skilled auto service graduates who will take up jobs in the automobile sector after their passing out ceremony today.
The ceremony, to be held in Jeddah to felicitate the graduates who represent the first batch of SJAHI students, will be attended by Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed.
“The event, to be attended by a large number of automobile dealers and representatives from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), symbolizes Japanese role in training Saudi youngsters in the field of automobile service technology,” said Seiichi Miyoshi, resident representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). These graduates are likely to be absorbed in the Kingdom’s huge automobile market immediately after their passing out ceremony, Miyoshi said.
SJAHI, which opened a new era in the long-standing relations between the Kingdom and Japan, was built on a piece of land donated by Crown Prince Abdullah in 2002. The institute aims to make Saudi youth technically qualified in general car maintenance. The SJAHI facility includes 30 classrooms and two large workshops with the most sophisticated training equipment in addition to 80 cars provided by Japanese manufacturers and their local distributors for students’ training.
Referring to JICA’s efforts in promoting Saudization, Miyoshi said: “SJAHI itself symbolizes the great effort made jointly by JICA and the General Organization for Technical Education and Vocational Training (GOTEVOT) to train the national work force. All dealers of Japanese cars in the Kingdom are today waiting for the SJAHI automobile technicians to join their workshops.”
The JICA chief emphasized that this automobile institute was part of the Kingdom’s efforts to nationalize jobs and further activate the role of the private sector in developing the process of Saudization.
The institute offers an opportunity to high school graduates to study and specialize in automobile maintenance and engineering, a sector which has been growing progressively. The graduates of the institute could also consider starting their own business in car maintenance or opening high-technology workshops.
Nearly 400 Saudi students are currently on the rolls of SJAHI. According to a SJAHI report, the automobile institute has designed tailor-made intensive courses, which directly correspond to the needs of auto industry in the Kingdom.
“An internal evaluation of the training is also done at the institute itself with a view to producing highly-trained Saudi work force,” said the report. The institute will eventually fulfill the needs of automobile dealers and workshops of the Kingdom.
Many local distributors of Japanese cars — Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Mazda, Isuzu, Subaru and Daihatsu — are partners in the SR100 million automobile institute with Japanese car manufacturers.
