RIYADH: The Human Resources Development Fund (Hadaf) and the Institute of Public Administration signed an agreement on Monday that will see 175 students provided with training in fields required by the Saudi job market.
The agreement is the second signed by the two organizations. The Institute of Public Administration (IPA) will select students participating in the program, entitled Maher 12/12. Subjects covered will be in accordance to job market needs.
Maher 12/12 aims to provide job market training to 12,000 people by 2012. “We have signed agreements with more than 40 different institutes and academies where we fund students of both genders to receive training to meet job market demands,” said Mohammad Al-Abdul Hafiz, general director of training at Hadaf.
Al-Abdul Hafiz explained that more than 2,000 women are being targeted to receive training for the next academic year at several health institutes, Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University, the Institute of Banking and Prince Sultan University.
“The programs we adopt aim at training a specialized work force to help them find jobs instantly in the market,” said Al-Abdul Hafiz.
He added that Hadaf looks carefully for needed specialties and nominates students to receive proper skills to meet those needs. The IPA will start the program at the next academic year. Hadaf will provide training costs and hand monthly stipends to the students during training.
“The costs of training each student vary according to the specialty. The institute is paid in full by Hadaf along with a monthly allowance for trainees,” said Al-Abdul Hafiz. xxHe added that trainees sometimes need to complete a full year of English language study before stepping into learning their given specialties.
According to Al-Abdul Hafiz, Hadaf’s programs are offered to graduates who receive one-year training. The program is also open to undergraduates for training at health institutes and nursing programs.
The institute, in the meantime, is carrying out three training programs for Hadaf at its main center in Riyadh as well as its branches in Makkah and the Eastern Provinces. The programs, which are all in English, involve training in banking, sales and executive secretary work. All programs are carried out in three stages: a one-year rigorous study of English, a specialized program on the designated topic and a year of practical fieldwork training.
