Saudi initiative creates 50,000 jobs for youth

Dubai: A record 50,000 job opportunities were provided to Saudi youth last year under an initiative established by a prominent businessman.

Opportunities offered by Bab Rizk Jameel — meaning ‘decent income' — were made available in Saudi cities including Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Tabuk and Yanbu. The highest number was in the Makkah region, where 16,033 opportunities were provided, followed by the Eastern province with 9,161, figures provided by the programme show. The lowest was in Baha, in the central southern part of the kingdom, with 117 opportunities.

Abdul Rahman Al Fahaid, Director of Job Creation at Bab Rizk Jameel, said the figure was the highest number of job placements provided since the beginning of the programme in 2003. To qualify for the programme, he added, an applicant must not only be an unemployed Saudi national, but must pass an assessment and be committed to working.

"We evaluate the job seekers [using] cognitive evaluations and assessments as well as [looking at] their passion and matching it with market needs," said Al Fahaid, adding that the average time frame for the process ranges from one to two weeks.

"We have 25 branches around the kingdom and we have 425 employees," he said.

Bab Rizk Jameel offers job placement programmes, training and employment as well as programmes with the support of other parties, including banks.

Other areas include taxi ownership, truck ownership and small business start-ups.

The programme also encourages women who wish to start their own micro projects, providing interest-free loans ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 Saudi riyals to assist them in developing projects and increasing their income. Since its launch in mid-2004, the programme has financed projects for nearly 90,000 women nationwide.

Unemployment in Saudi Arabia was estimated at 10.8 per cent in 2010, up from 10.5 per cent in 2009. It has one of the highest unemployment rates in the Arab world. As a result, the authorities have announced several initiatives to create jobs for youths, including introducing quotas in companies for Saudi citizens under the Nitaqat scheme.

Goals

The programme has succeeded in generating more than 300,000 jobs in the private sector, Saudi officials claim.

Saudi newspapers quoted Ebrahim Al Moaigel, Director-General of the Human Resources Development Fund, as saying, "These figures are based on reports that we have received after implementing the programme since June last year. The HRDF branch offices across the kingdom are vigorously working on achieving the goals of the Nitaqat programme."

Under the Nitaqat programme, companies have been labelled green, yellow or red depending on the level of Saudisation they have achieved. The first phase of the programme came into effect last June 11, classifying companies and giving them three months to increase their Saudisation level.

Companies meeting their required Saudisation quotas started enjoying a number of benefits when the second phase of the programme came into force last September 10.

A number of punitive measures against companies classified in the red category came into force on November 26 at the end of a six-month grace period.

Yellow companies will face penal action effective from February 23 at the end of a nine-month grace period.

Late last year the Labour Ministry teamed up with the foundation of business tycoon Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal to broadcast an "unemployment awareness TV campaign" highlighting some of the causes of unemployment such as the lack of trust in female employees and the stigma attached to blue collar jobs.

The campaign will run on three television channels owned by the foundation.