ALKHOBAR, 4 May 2006 — A Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) executive gave business and academic leaders a look at the challenges to Saudization yesterday at a dialogue aimed at increasing Saudi participation in billions of dollars of energy, industrial and infrastructure projects.
At the Megaprojects and Learning Dialogue, a two-day conference organized by the Gulf Society of Organizational Learning (Gulf SOL) and sponsored by SABIC and Saudi Aramco, Mohammed Al-Bathi, SABIC’s vice president of human resources, laid out recent employment statistics for the Kingdom.
Of a total private sector labor force of 6.5 million, Saudis only represent about 12 percent at present. Although that number is rising, without a concerted effort by academia, industry and government, money from the massive construction boom is more likely to travel overseas by way of expatriate worker salaries as opposed to fueling increased growth and prosperity.
Noting that the Kingdom currently graduates about 100,000 students from colleges and universities across the land and overseas, Al-Bathi said that only about 20,000 students graduate from technical and vocational institutes. In the current round of megaprojects, more than 20,000 engineers and 300,000 technical and trade positions will be required by 2010. Graduating engineers account for less than 10 percent of the annual university crop. “We can turn challenges into opportunities by investing in education geared to market requirements,” Al-Bathi said. “We need higher quality outcomes in technical and science fields.”
He said education needed to give students good analytical capabilities and that the highest standards should be maintained in craft and semi-skilled training programs, emphasizing the need for fostering discipline and good work ethics in the younger generation.
Al-Bathi also said business and industry could play an important role by teaming up with universities and vocational institutes to ensure that certificates and degrees lead directly to solid jobs. He recommended recruitment and retention policies for the local work force that was demonstrated by progressive company human resource policies and benefits with attractive pay scales and career ladders that would lead to better, higher paying jobs as workers continued their training and development after joining the work force.
Private sector businesses can benefit through a variety of alliances with various partners, from schools and other businesses to governmental ministries, SABIC and Saudi Aramco along with innovative contractual approaches that encourage building sustainable national capability and economic growth. “We can build long-term capacity in projects, operations and maintenance by working together.”
