JEDDAH, 8 June 2007 — With limited opportunities for social advancement, women from underprivileged families face difficulties in finding productive and profitable employment. Thanks to an initiative from the National Commercial Bank (NCB), some women at least can take matters into their own hands — literally.
One hundred and forty women from disadvantaged families registered with a range of charities will receive training during this year and eventually qualify in production of traditional and modern craft skills.
As part of the NCB’s corporate philanthropy program, the courses will be held in five cities around the Kingdom: Makkah, Riyadh, Qasim, Hail and Taif.
“These courses provide a professional and personal approach to the conversion of women from underprivileged families into productive individuals who can help their families secure fixed income and therefore lessen their reliance on charities,” said Mahmoud Al-Turkistani, the head of the NCB Community Service Unit.
He added that at the end of each course, the bank would pledge to supply what was needed by way of raw materials or other essential requirements for trainees to get into production.
The trainees can train in one or more of seven craft skills, including embroidery, gift wrapping, textile printing, cosmetics, hair care and the culinary arts.
The training programs are part of the AlAhli Program for Productive Families, which aims to both reduce unemployment and promote and develop women’s latent skills and abilities and bring them into the marketplace.
The NCB works in concert with charities in various regions of the Kingdom. They supervise and advise in areas of production, on the quality of final products and simple craft techniques. The bank supports the products produced through the training and activities and helps in marketing them. NCB has already successfully trained 480 women within the scope of the programs during the past year.
Attesting to the success of the programs, Al-Turkistani said that 81 percent of the graduates were in commercial production.
“The social responsibility programs offered by the bank aim to contribute to supporting economic and social development in the Kingdom by encouraging small entrepreneurs and promoting the right atmosphere for business development,” he said.
He observed that it also helped to provide a variety of career opportunities in the future through such projects.
