JEDDAH: Investors in the optical field have demanded that the Ministry of Labor treat them in the same manner as pharmacies in terms of calculating the ratio of Saudization in view of the lack of Saudi specialists in the industry.

Mohammad Abdulrazzaq Bashawri, head of the Optical Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, appealed to the Ministry of Labor to exempt the optometry sector from the Saudization ratio mandate applicable to the retail sector and to treat optical stores like pharmacies in terms of the Saudization efforts.

"Universities and colleges here in the Kingdom do not have this specialty in our curriculums, and even the Human Resources Development Fund has not registered any job seeker in this field yet," he explained.

He said that the sector currently needs more than 6,000 opticians. "Some shops took advantage of the situation and sold their licenses that they acquired from the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties in exchange for more than SR 12,000 a month, in violation of the regulations", he added.

He said that the committee he chairs filed a petition to the rector of Umm Al-Qura University to include courses for opticians in the curriculum due to the urgent need within the Saudi markets for qualified graduates in the sector.

He estimated that the number of Saudis working in optometry currently to be around 20, against a market need of more than 6,000.

Aisha Nto, a member of the Optical Committee, said that the Ministry of Labor promised to consider this amendment to the Saudization ratio in the sector according to the requirements of the Ministry of Health and the reality of the market.

Mohammad Alzahrani, an investor in the field, said that the shortage of Saudi opticians has led to those working in the public sector to switch to the private sector for higher pay.

He said that the sector is ready to pay the salaries of 10,000 Saudis, noting that the private sector is dominated by Arab workers. He also demanded that women be allowed to work in this field.