JEDDAH: Many new young graduates are no longer relying on government jobs as the only path to career success, as many have overcome their fears and societal expectations to launch their own profitable businesses in various technical and creative fields.

Majed Al-Hazmi, owner of an electric and lighting supply store in Riyadh, said he always dreamed of opening his own store after graduating from the Department of Electricity at the Secondary Industrial Institute. “After graduating, I visited the Entrepreneurship Institute, where I received advice and guidance on my business plan. I attended a training course for a month, after which I began the launch of my businesses.”

“At first, I suffered from lack of knowledge and experience about prices and how to run my own store, as well as having only a few employees, but I quickly gained experience and began to travel outside the Kingdom to get supplies and equipment needed in the local market. I then entered in partnership with a relative and was able to tremendously expand my business to become a main competitor in the field,” he added.

“I urge all Saudi youths to take advantage of available support and assistance to launch their own businesses,” said Al-Hazmi.

Jawaher Moahmmed says she had a similar experience opening her coffee shop after graduating from the Technical College for Girls. Rather than looking for a standard job, she focused primarily on launching her business, and received tremendous support from Entrepreneurship Institute for her business plan in 1424 A.H.

“They welcomed my idea and after finding the financial and moral support, I launched my businesses at Imam Mohammed bin Saudi Islamic University within a year,” she says. “My success is due in large part to the support and encouragement I received from the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC), who I hope will continue to provide support to Saudi youths.”

“We young Saudis need our society to stand with us and support us, as well as we need support from our government to launch these projects. I encourage all youths to embrace self-enterprise, which allows for greater opportunities to invest and grow.”

TVTC encourages its graduates to launch their own businesses, and provides them with comprehensive support through the National Entrepreneurship Institute. The institute specializes in helping individuals launch their businesses, offers help to owners of small and medium enterprises to improve their businesses through training and capacity-building support, as well as helps facilitate government processes.

The institute was founded in 2009 as a joint initiative between the organization and the Ministry of Petrol, as well as a number of other national organizations that include SABIC, Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Telecom Company and others.