Bab Rizq Jameel (BRJ), part of Abdul Lateef Jameel Community Initiative (ALJCI), created 10,673 job opportunities during the third quarter of this year, an increase of 10 percent compared to the same period last year. Thus the total number of job opportunities created from the beginning of 2012 till the end of September of the same year has reached 41,117.

To boost female employment, BRJ has announced it will support nursery and day care projects, to provide assistance to female teachers during their working hours.

Moreover, the “Productive Household” program provides interest-free loans starting from SR 2,000 to SR 5,000 to women who want to start their own micro project. It is based on a group finance principle, whereby a loan is provided to a group of women who have different businesses, such as selling silver and wedding accessories, embroidery, and other projects. The loan is payable in easy installments within eight months. “Productive Household” has created 4,966 jobs during the third quarter of 2012.

According to Rola Basamad, BRJ female employment director in Saudi Arabia, 914 women have been employed in the Makkah area and 2,448 women throughout the Kingdom during the third quarter of 2012. The job categories that witnessed a dramatic rise in the number of female applicants, included sale and call centers, while female cashiers and production worker jobs are slowly attracting candidates, as working conditions and salaries improve.

Basamad conveyed her appreciation to the Ministry of Labor for opening more employment fields for women and helping them get descent, suitable and well-rewarding jobs. She also confirmed there are many other vacancies for females in the future, and encouraged them to attend specialized training courses to help improve their curriculum vitae.

Nafisa Shams Academy for Arts and Crafts, which is one of the BRJ programs, said the academy has provided training for 203 female trainees in different fields, including secretarial work and organizational behavior. In addition, jobs have been created for 226 women through the “Work from Home” program, which is supervised by Nafisa Shams Academy for Arts and Crafts. Through this program, women produce approximately 8,000 prayer rugs every month, which are then sold to Toyota and Lexus. During the third quarter of 2012, 70,158 prayer rugs were produced.

Abdul Rahman Al-Fihaid, BRJ executive director Saudi Arabia, asserted: “Through BRJ, we are seeking to create more job opportunities for Saudi citizens, in cooperation with several public authorities and private companies. Public authorities that support BRJ programs are the Human Resources Development Fund, Credit and Saving Bank, Ministry of Labor through its labor offices, Social Charity Fund, Technical and Vocational Training Corporation and the National Commercial Bank.”

According to Al-Fihaid, BRJ provides a selection of programs to create job opportunities for beneficiaries. The applicants should review the programs to understand the objectives of each one, and then select the program that suits their personal interests. Programs include the small finance projects, direct employment, and training ending with employment.

Al-Fihaid called on unemployed young people to apply to a Bab Rizq Jameel branch in different cities of the Kingdom or through their website, www.babrizqjameel.com.