Some 12,052 students have enrolled in 37 Colleges of Excellence (CoE) across the Kingdom as of Wednesday, with 149,342 applications currently being processed. There are also plans under way to construct another 100 colleges to accommodate 450,000 students by 2020, according to CoE online updates.

The CoE were established in 2013 to provide technical and vocational training to Saudi male and female students with the cooperation of the best international training organizations.

According to the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC), there are 36 technical and 18 general colleges for boys; 68 secondary industrial institutes for girls, in addition to 28 institutes for strategic partnerships with the private sector. There are also 37 CoEs located in various cities and provinces of the Kingdom.

The TVTC has embarked on an ambitious program that will empower Saudi young men and women with world-class technical and vocational training suitable for the local job market.

“The ambitious plan seeks to facilitate the dramatic transition to a global village coupled with the internationalization of business sectors. This has prompted Saudi Arabia to boost its competitiveness by building manpower skills required for various professions,” said TVTC Gov. Ali Al-Ghafees at the inauguration of 27 new colleges earlier this year.

CoEs offer certificates and diplomas in specializations to high school graduates with Saudi mothers. During the preparatory year, the focus is on developing foundation skills including English language and communication skills.

The colleges provide vocational training across a range of skills in health care, business, IT and finance, hair and beauty, fashion design and agriculture. The subjects were carefully selected to create employment opportunities specific to the needs of the job market in the various provinces.

The quality vocational training programs through public and private partnerships with top level training providers in the Kingdom will be focused on employer needs. They will also enable students to turn their passions into careers.

Saudi Arabia has expanded the capacity of technical and vocational training on par with advanced countries including Germany, Japan and the United States and is seeking highly committed graduates and young professionals to achieve its aspirations.