“As a young girl, I admired technicians who worked in laboratories. I wanted to grow up and work in a laboratory and so I majored in biology. When I graduated, I applied for jobs and was unsuccessful,” said Lamia Mehsen.
“I needed money and so I applied for a job elsewhere. Now I’m working for a mobile company and my job has nothing to do with what I majored in,” she added.
It does seem that many graduates refuse to remain unemployed while waiting for jobs that relate to their qualifications. Some have even ventured back to the classroom.
“I graduated three years ago with sociology as major. As soon as I graduated, I started looking for a job and couldn’t find anything,” said Mariam Al-Jefri. “I then went back to college to study English literature; I hope I can find a decent job with the extra qualifications I get,” she said.
Some graduates have been left disappointed after being rejected so many times. “I always dreamed of being a banker and so did a degree in finance. I was, however, left surprised. I applied for jobs in almost all of the Kingdom’s banks and was told they were not hiring. My dream came to an end,” said Doha Al-Sharif. “I now teach banking and finance students at a college in Jeddah,” she added.
There are mixed opinions about women lawyers — some law firms are simply not ready to hire women. “I graduated in law and began applying for jobs. I was rejected because I’m a woman and they think I don’t have a future in the legal profession in the Kingdom,” said Hawazen Samman. “Now I’m far from legal practice, I’m working for a private company,” she added.
According to Lamya Gazzaz, vice dean of students’ affairs at Dar Al-Hekma College, women have limited job opportunities in the Kingdom. “Only seven percent of jobs are available to Saudi women and this is a very poor percentage when we take into consideration the number of university graduates out there,” she said.
“Another problem is that some universities are not up-to-date with regard to understanding the needs of the job market; they’re not developing and changing,” she added.
Gazzaz thinks that the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labor are failing to work with each other in providing graduates with jobs that match their qualifications.
