More than 670 Saudi students on scholarship in the US also do jobs there while most of the graduates prefer to return to serve the Kingdom, sources at the American Embassy in Riyadh have said.

The American system allows fresh graduates to seek employment under the “Optional Practical Training” (OPT) program, where science graduates have up to a year to work after graduating, which can be extended by an additional 12 months.

The OPT system also allows students to work for up to 20 hours a week during the course of their study, earning between $10 and $20 depending on their level of experience.

There are more than 87,000 male and female Saudi students on scholarship in the US in various specialties and more than 174,000 scholarship students around the globe, according to recent statistics issued by the Ministry of Higher Education.

Muhammad Al-Issa, Saudi cultural attaché in the US, said that the majority of students are unaware that they can work upon graduating.

Around 11,00 bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral and fellowship students are expected to graduate from American universities this summer.

“We expect the number of students in training programs to multiply in upcoming months. The ministry attaches great importance to these programs,” said Al-Issa.

He said the embassy has established a department for training affairs in order to raise awareness among students on the importance of finding training programs before going back home.

“We intend to make use of our close relations with the US in order to make our students more employable in the local market,” he said.

He said there is little interest among Saudi graduates to seek training in the US due to the limited number of such internships.

“Officials at the Saudi Embassy have met with senior officials in big corporate companies to discuss training opportunities,” he said. “Many students go on to pursue higher studies after graduating, thus postponing work. We plan to launch an extensive media campaign on social media sites and the embassy’s website in order to raise awareness about employment opportunities.”