A record number of companies, including Saudi Aramco, Saudi Basic Industries Corp., Chevron, Samba, General Electric, National Commercial Bank and Saudi British Bank, are taking part in the university’s Open Day event with a view to hiring the university’s talented graduates.
KFUPM graduates are in top demand in the market because of the university’s excellent reputation in the world of academia. It is not just KFUPM’s good reputation that has brought these many companies to the event. In view of the massive localization program called Nitaqat, companies have doubled their efforts to hire young Saudis.
Talking to Arab News on the sidelines of the event, KFUPM Rector Dr. Khalid S. Al-Sultan acknowledged that KFUPM graduates are the most sought after candidates by employers.
“Every graduate of our university has on average seven job offers,” he said. “And these are from the top companies in the Kingdom.”
According to him, about 25 percent of the university’s final year students are not even available for employment. “They were taken on right in the beginning when they were sophomore under the KFUPM Sponsorship Program,” he said. “Those students are not even here at the Open Day because they have already been hired by different companies.”
Al-Sultan said the Open Day was a good opportunity the university offered to the industry. “These companies come here, place their offers, check out our graduates, offer them internships and training opportunities to attract them,” he said.
He said KFUPM graduates are not run of the mill students. “Our students are smart; they don’t just focus on the pay packet; they look at the whole package; they see whether the companies offering jobs have good growth prospects. If not, then they will not go,” he said.
The university organizes the Open Day every year. It is being held for three days this year and will end on Wednesday. A number of rooms have been allocated at the back of the event site for companies to conduct interviews with prospective graduates.
The event will also include workshops on effective resumes and successful interviews.
“Our university staff is at hand at all times to guide our students to help them connect with the right employers,” said Al-Sultan, adding that the whole idea is to make sure that KFUPM graduates get the right, fruitful and meaningful jobs that go well with their academic qualifications.
Among the many graduates who were busy finding out the various job opportunities at the event was 24-year-old Ibrahim Yaseen Al-Sarhan from Makkah and 30-year-old Hussein Al-Moomen from Dammam.
A mechanical engineering graduate from KFUPM, Al-Sarhan said: “Such open days offer a unique opportunity for us graduates to meet the right people in one go. If these employers are impressed with our CVs and our attitude and aptitude then we immediately go out for an interview,” he said.
“Since all the big companies are here, I don’t have to run from one city to another,” he said. “For example, recruitment specialists from SABIC are here … I don’t have to run to Jubail for an interview,” he said.
Al-Moomen, who did his bachelor’s in business administration from Saginaw Valley State University, Michigan, said for young Saudis, getting into Saudi Aramco, SABIC, Samba, SABB and National Commercial Bank is the top priority. “I am looking for a job that offers a decent salary and good training opportunities,” he told Arab News.
The Open Day saw young Saudis from other schools and universities as well. “They are here because they are smart,” said businessman Khalid A. Al-Abdulkarim. “They want to make the most of this because in attendance here are the HR managers and recruitment specialists of all major companies and these young men want to connect with them and explore possible openings.”
