JEDDAH: The high hopes of potential employers and young people lacking the required skills is creating a gap between them, and to some extent, driving regional youth unemployment in the Kingdom.

Companies and organizations to bridge this gap have urged youths to undertake vocational training programs to be an essential part of growing industries after they graduate.

In comparison to other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Saudi Arabia has a lower unemployment rate, but the Kingdom still faces unemployment issues.

Official data from the Central Department of Statistics and Information put the unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia at 5.88 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to 5.70 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Noticing the increase in the percentage, employers recommend that the vocational training system can reduce youth unemployment on average 5 percent.

Mohammed Sohail, an entrepreneur, said: “Saudi Arabia’s youth population generally lacks the education and technical skills the private sector needs”.