Chairman of the Jeddah Chamber for Commerce and Industry (JCCI) Saleh Kamel told Turki Al-Dakheel of Al-Arabiya channel on Friday that the absence of consultative studies on Saudi labor market needs was unacceptable.
Faisal Andijani, a Saudi medical student who graduated from King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah last year, has been unemployed for eight months since he graduated.
“I sent my CV to several hospitals in Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah. Although I graduated with a high average, I still can’t find any job,” said Andijani.
He said that the only job offer he received was from a private hospital. The job description was not relevant to what he studied, he added. His main task was to maintain the medicine inventory at the hospital pharmacy.
The job offer was for SR3,500 a month. Andijani refused the offer, hoping that he would get something more suited to his skills. “Many of the youth are put under pressure by their family, who force them to study subjects they’re not interested in.”
“Most families encourage their sons and daughters to study difficult majors like medicine or engineering. It usually takes many years at university. With no jobs available, it looks like I’ve wasted all my years studying.”
He questioned the point of building more private colleges to teach certain fields that are no longer required in the job market.
He said these colleges are contributing to increasing numbers of unemployed Saudis. Samah Nakeshbanid, a Saudi student who quit her pharmacy course at King Abduaziz University in Jeddah, chose to shift her studies to London to study physiotherapy.
“Many people criticized my decision to study another profession. From talking to my friends, I learned pharmacists cannot find jobs after graduation,” she said.
“There are many people who graduate every year and cannot find jobs. Soon after I graduated from London and came back, I found a job immediately in one of the hospitals on a good salary, while my friends who graduated in their pharmacy course are still now searching for a job.”
Teaching is the most attractive profession for women because of the short working hours and long yearly vacation. Many women enter teaching college to become teachers after graduation.
Lubna Al-Ansari, a Saudi woman who graduated in history at King Abdulaziz University two years ago and still without find a job in Jeddah, said Saudi girls want to become teachers because it is preferred by their parents.
“In addition, it is very easy to get admitted at these colleges. It doesn’t require a high GPA in high school. After graduation, these women start feeling regret because schools have enough teachers and the only places available are in faraway villages. The suffering that comes from accepting a job in remote schools is another story in itself.”
JCCI board member Aisha Natto said that many consultative studies were presented to the Labor Ministry on Saudi labor market needs, but these studies have still not been used.
“Saudi students are lacking educational guidance. Most students are following their parents’ desires. Some parents want them to become doctors and others want them to become engineers,” she said.
“These students will soon wake up to the harsh reality that there are no jobs available in the job market, even for those with a high GPA.”
Changing society’s perspectives is considered a priority in rescuing a generation from unemployment, she added.
“We need to work to make society aware of the new market needs,” said Natto. “I advise the Ministry of Higher Education to stop accepting a large number of students in fields like medicine, engineering, history, geography and Arabic. A large number of unemployed graduates come from these fields.”
The Saudi labor market’s current needs are totally different to what they were 20 years ago, said Natto.
“Universities and families should be targeted with awareness programs to change their view regarding the quality of students’ higher education. The salary should also be higher for people working in less prestigious careers.”
She added that scholarship programs should be implemented for rare fields. “For example, my daughter gets a scholarship in the field of precautionary medicine. She was the first Saudi doctor to graduate in this field.
“If the Saudis give up their old views and start looking for scholarships in rare fields, they can overcome the unemployment phenomenon and achieve their goals,” said Natto.
