Having worked in the private sector for 19 years, I can say it was bad luck that put me in a job dealing with the employment of Saudis. I have to admit I failed in the mission, not because of any lack of desire from my part or other employers but as a result of hastily and sometimes ill-studied government decisions.
The extended holidays and leaves enjoyed by public sector employees have led Saudi youth to refuse work in the private sector. To make Saudization work we must address this. With 104 days in weekend holidays, 30 days of annual leave, 15 Eid Al-Fitr and 15 Eid Al-Adha holidays and seven days as emergency leave, a government employee actually spends only a little more than half of the year at work. At the same time, a private sector employee has only 52 Fridays for weekends, 30 days of annual leave, and 5 days for each Eid. This means he is at work more than 75 percent of the year.
As to the hours per day spent at work by each, a government employee comes to work at 7:30 or 8 in the morning, spends half an hour on breakfast, half an hour reading the papers, one hour taking children to and from school, half an hour chatting with colleagues and half an hour spent on preparing for the journey back home after a long, hard working day. The actual hours worked here are only 3.5. In comparison, a private sector employee works at least seven full hours, double that of a government employee. This may not be the case with all public sector employees but at least it applies to 50 percent.
Given all this, can we still expect Saudization to succeed while we prepare to join the World Trade Organization? The minister of labor should approach a consultancy firm to help in drawing up an effective and efficient Saudization plan instead of all these human resource development funds and other programs that consume money without giving tangible results.
Of the 20,000 plus students who graduated from our technical colleges and institutes over the past years, only 3,645, or 18 percent, have been employed. Yet, more new colleges and institutes are in the offing.
The problem is not confined to education and training but extends to cover the systems and laws and how these are implemented.
