JEDDAH, 13 January 2005 — The National Commercial Bank (NCB), which leads the Kingdom’s financial institutions in the area of nationalization of jobs, has won the 2004 Saudization Award.
The award was announced at a celebration held recently at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce & Industry. The bank was honored for its pioneering role in the Saudization of jobs and its successful efforts in the training of Saudi nationals.
Abdulla Bahamdan, the NCB’s chairman and managing director, who accepted the award from Labor Minister Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi, thanked Interior Minister Prince Naif, who heads the higher committee for the implementation of Saudization program, saying the honor is a matter of immense pride for the bank. “It reflects the government’s generous support for the business sector,” he added.
Bahamdan said it was the third time the NCB had won such an award and that “it crowned the bank’s policy of drawing from national human resources.” The bank hires Saudi graduates through a modern recruitment system, keeping in mind national development requirements and the job market needs.
Abdulhadi A. Shayif, the bank’s general manager, said the bank’s achievement is the result of continuous efforts and comprehensive strategies adopted by the institution to realize the development of its human resources.
“The NCB’s Saudization drive had a wider objective transcending employment to our newly graduating sons and daughters; we equip them to contribute to the national development efforts.”
Al-Shayif emphasized the bank’s sense of social responsibility and its commitment toward the Kingdom’s Saudization strategies, in addition to fulfilling the needs of the domestic market for national cadres through various methods such as dedicating part of the bank’s resources to supporting institutions of higher education, offering scholarships, establishing summer training programs, and the NCB’s training program for new recruits.
The government has earmarked SR2 billion to prepare young Saudis for employment. It will also seek additional funding for this purpose as part of its drive to solve the problem of unemployment, Dr. Al-Gosaibi said. The money will come from a human resources development fund set up by the government for training young Saudis for jobs.
