Saudi students taste chocolate manufacturing

The Technical and Vocational Training Institute Makkah has joined hands with chocolate manufacturing company Mars Inc. for the employment of Saudis in the chocolate and sweets industry, the institute’s chairman has said.
Rashid bin Mohammed Al-Zahrani, who is also director of the technical education council for Makkah, explained that the program is part of the institute’s technical and vocational training programs, which are currently being implemented in cooperation with vital sector companies for direct employment of Saudis.
Al-Zahrani stressed on the importance of the private sector’s social responsibility in building the nation through the employment of Saudi youth trained by technical and vocational training institutes.
“Training in this area opens the doors to the youth, as they can demonstrate their ability and get experience in the local chocolate industry and sweets produce. This will help boost Saudi manpower in the industry, given that the Kingdom is the largest consumer market for the chocolate industry in the Middle East,” said Al-Zahrani.
He pointed out that 48 different posts were available for specialists and assistant specialists in technical, electrical, technology, and chocolate production. The training session is open for youth who want to proceed with this career.
He said recently, 120 young Saudis had joined the technical college in Jeddah and secondary industrial institutes in Makkah, where they would follow two different courses to become operators and assistant operators.
Al-Zahrani praised the interest in the chocolate and sweets industry as well as the effort shown by Saudi youth.
The direct learning program consisting of employment training sessions for employees of factories and companies, he said, would be held in Badabi for three months. After that, there will be another program of three months in Rabigh.
Al-Zahrani revealed that the council, through its training programs, would continue to cooperate with the companies in the future for other jobs and functions, such as in maintenance, production, packaging, sales, and factory administration.