SR 3.6 bn set aside for youth employment

The Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) is ready to spend any amount to find jobs for the unemployed youth, an official of the fund said.
HRDF will pay at the rate of SR 2,800 for each of the registered unemployed youths to private employment agencies in the Kingdom, HRDF Director General Ibrahim Al-Moaiqel said.
More than 1.3 million youths have registered in the Hafiz program across the Kingdom, and the HRDF should pay SR 3.6 billion for them, Al-Sharq daily reported yesterday.
“The HRDF decided to pay the amount in installments over three continuous months to ensure that the new recruits complete the trial period and get confirmed at their jobs,” Al-Moaiqel said.
The fund adopted the method of installment payment to rule out any possibility of bogus employment or any other foul play resorted to by some employment agencies, he said.
There are 130 employment agencies in the Kingdom.
“While launching various channels of speedy Saudization, we hope for the active participation of businessmen and employment agencies in finding jobs for the unemployed youth. We also aimed to simplify the employment of Saudi men and women,” he said.
“It is the right of private companies to benefit from financial assistance of the fund to achieve the noble goal of Hafiz, so that the youths get jobs matching their qualifications and ensure their job security,” he said.
He added that the fund had enough financial resources and its budget covered not only the youths registered under the Hafiz system but also the employment of other young men and women. He said a feature of the online training program launched by the HRDF is that the Saudi men or women need not go out of their homes to participate in the training program.
He also warned that the companies that do not participate in the HRDF training programs are violating the contractual relations with Hafiz.
The Ministry of Labor on an earlier occasion said that 85 percent of the registered youths under Hafiz were women.
The ministry launched projects such as Nitaqat, Hafiz and Liqaat with the aim of bringing a speedy end to unemployment in the Kingdom.
The Nitaqat is a system to encourage private companies to employ a maximum number of Saudis, while Hafiz offers allowances to unemployed youths with the aim of enabling them to become qualified for the job market.
The Liqaat organizes job fairs in which job applicants are given an opportunity to meet company recruiters and get employed.
The rate of unemployment among Saudis is estimated at 10.5 percent, while millions of expatriates find jobs in the Kingdom.