Opening the sixth Saudi technical conference and exhibition in Riyadh, he said the new Saudization plan would include a package of incentives for private companies to employ more Saudis.
“It will also specify the punishments to be imposed on companies that do not comply,” the minister said, adding that his ministry has started receiving applications to join the program.
“If we don’t find any new job opportunities at the present stage, the incentives that have been fixed by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah will be paid early next year,” Fakieh said.
King Abdullah issued a number of decrees last month to solve the country’s growing unemployment problem, which included one for setting up a high-level ministerial committee to ensure the growing number of graduates find work in the public and private sectors.
The committee has been asked to present its report within four months.
As part of the government’s efforts to fight unemployment, financial resources from the Human Resource Development Fund will be allocated to provide assistance to unemployed youth for a year. In the meantime, the General Organization for Social Insurance will set up a cooperative insurance program for the unemployed.
The king also extended the period of the King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship Program for another five years and said Saudis studying abroad at their own expense would be included in the program. He increased the minimum salary of Saudis to SR3,000 and ordered payment of a SR2,000 monthly allowance for the jobless.
During his opening speech at the conference, Fakieh said the Kingdom’s unemployment problem was exacerbated because of its growing population. “The number of workers in the Kingdom is big compared to other countries and this has led to an increase in job-seekers, whose number doubled several times within a few years. This demands a change in direction to overcome this challenge,” he said.
Fakieh said the setting up of the Human Resource Development Fund was instrumental in finding employment for a large number of Saudis at private firms after providing them with on-the-job training.
He also highlighted the government’s efforts to provide education and training to citizens. More than 25 percent of the annual budget has been allocated for the sector.
He said the annual conference would help make use international experiences in manpower development and exchange expertise to face challenges.
