Recruitment offices to hire Saudi job seekers

Recruitment firms in the private sector are to hire Saudi talents for jobs with companies in the Kingdom that face difficulties in the Saudization process. The aim is to help the Human Resources Development Fund (HADAF) achieve its goals.
The tasks include making up for the shortage in training and qualifying Saudis for the job market. Recruitment offices have been appointed to make nominations and conduct the selection process. Companies that already cooperate with the fund, and have a good Saudization rate, are exempt.
“This step will minimize fraud and fake employment practices, as well as support recruitment offices,” Muhammad Abdullah Al-Lafi, employment officer and vice president of training at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry told a local newspaper. “The fund decided to give support to recruitment offices by paying them a specified fee when employing Saudi citizens in the private sector.” A number of companies took advantage of this mechanism by determining salaries of new appointees in particular, and to minimize favoritism and in-house disputes. “This will have an impact on issues of labor committees at the Ministry of Labor,” he said.
Al-Lafi explained that there are numerous firms that can train staff through contracts with other offices and experts for the training process. This will save time, and puts the right person in his right place. “The ultimate goal is to attain the Saudization of both the public and private sectors,” he said.
Explaining which factors hinder the Saudization process, Al-Lafi said, “Most employers and CEOs in the private sector do not appreciate team work in general. They take into consideration only their best interests, not that of the work. Other problems include determining the right job, low salaries against high costs of living, and the prevailing culture concerning some types of jobs.”
He said that applicants are more comfortable when interviewed by experts. “At this point many indicators are considered, such as the intentions and seriousness of the applicants to accept the jobs available, their strengths and weaknesses, and the training they need,” said Al-Lafi. Benefits and incentives of the job are made clear to the applicant, making the whole process of employment transparent to all parties concerned.
This procedure was pre-empted by an agreement between the fund and recruitment offices stating that the later should provide services free of charge to job seekers who are listed in the database of Hafez, the Saudi unemployment program, as well as coordinating with the companies to develop local workforce.