The Technical and Vocational Training Corp. (TVTC) said on Saturday that another five technical institutions, including an academy of civil aviation, would soon be operational.

A TVTC spokesman said the new institutes, which are being set up in cooperation with local Saudi firms, will accommodate 5,800 trainees. They will be used for training freshers and increasing their rate of employment to 80 percent.

“The TVTC plans to increase the capacity of the institutions which are run in partnership with the business sector and based on the apprentice employment training system,” said Fahd Al-Otaibi, TVTC spokesman.

He said that the opening of five new institutes would fulfil a long-felt need by the Kingdom’s labor market.

Three of the institutes are located in Jeddah. They are the National Institute of Water Technology (NIWT) in partnership with the National Water Company (NWC) with a capacity of up to 1,000 trainees, the Saudi Institute for German Technologies (SIFT) in partnership with the Juffalis with a capacity of 1,200 trainees, and the Academy of Civil Aviation (ACV) in partnership with the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) with a capacity of up to 800 trainees.

Al-Otaibi said that there was an institute in the Northern Border Region which operates in partnership with Ma’aden and a transportation institute in partnership with the High Commission for the Development of Riyadh. The two together have a capacity of some 2,800 trainees.

Al-Otaibi explained that the TVTC was exerting efforts to increase national human resource development and rehabilitation in accordance with the needs of the Saudi labor market and overall development plans. It will also help the private sector in playing a greater role in development projects.

“In this context, the organization is moving to expand its strategic partnership with business segments,” he said, adding that such partnerships with major companies increased the possibility of employment because of the training programs.

According to Al-Otaibi, there are 21 existing partnerships with private sector firms specializing in various areas. These include petroleum services, plastic industries, electronics and appliances, water and energy, dairy products, food, mining and electricity services, techniques and paper industries, rubbers industries, tourism and hospitality and railway maintenance services.