I had high admiration for his efforts to dramatically change the structure of the labor market in Saudi Arabia, which is at the core of the country’s future. Many were those that opposed his Saudization method but he understood and he knew the challenges the country faced and the need to change. I had the deepest admiration for his understanding of strategy on the labor market. Al-Gosaibi knew very well that the labor problem cannot be fixed if the right training is not provided, additional foreigners are not brought into the country, train more and better young Saudis and establish a dialogue with the private sector.
Al-Gosaibi believed in training and vocational institutions as being very important for any country’s future. He was instrumental in pushing for the private sector but also the public sector to work together in making important progress on vocational training.
Al-Gosaibi also believed in the importance of the small-and medium-sized business as being at the heart of any private sector development program. His legacy as a labor minister is enormous given the labor challenges the Kingdom is facing and he stands as an architect who knew how the labor market can be changed. I would not forget once when Al-Gosaibi implored media figures to “stop describing salesmen jobs as inferior.”
“A vegetable seller can possibly be better than any chairman of the board of a big company. These workers are the hope of the whole nation and the media should support them instead of frustrating them,” the minister said.
In response to a question on the social stigma attached to some jobs, Al-Gosaibi said: “I know only two kinds of jobs: halal and haram. There’s no greater honor than starting at the bottom and finishing at the top. It is not an accomplishment when one finds oneself already at the top. Ascending the ladder step by step is the real accomplishment.”
The importance that Al-Gosaibi gave to training was a true change that needs time to flower and we all need, both the public and the private sector, to work together to continue the work and the legacy that Al-Gosaibi is leaving behind for us to generate change in the labor market. The future of Saudi Arabia is its young and educated class that can be the engine of growth for a prosperous Saudi Arabia.