Cairo: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has decreed localising a number of professions in the holy city of Medina as part of a regional localisation programme, a Saudi newspaper has reported.
The programme, limiting jobs to Saudis only, is being pursued by the ministry in partnership with the Interior Ministry and local authorities to provide more “motivating and productive” work opportunities to citizens, added Okaz.
The latest decree, which will go into effect in six months’ time, covers localising jobs at restaurants in the city by 40 per cent of the total manpower, at coffeeshops and food and beverage wholesale outlets by 50 per cent each, the report said.
Exempted from the decree are jobs of cleaning, loading and offloading. However, the number of the exempted workers should not make up more than 20 per cent of the overall employees and have to appear in uniforms.
Other professions covered by the localisation decree include 40 per cent of marketing specialists, sales representatives and accounting funding employees.
The ministry said it will offer a package of incentives and support to private sector establishments to help them employ Saudis. These incentives include support to the process of searching for qualified employees, training and employment continuity.
Saudi Arabia, a country of around 34.8 million people, is home to a large community of migrant workers.
In recent years, the kingdom has launched a series of initiatives to employ its nationals and replace foreign workers in several fields including education, telecommunications and real estate as part of a labour policy known as “Saudisation”.
In June, ministerial decrees were announced restricting jobs in certain sectors to Saudis only. They covered, optics professions, customer services, licensed aviation professions including co-pilots and air controllers, sales outlets and periodic checks of cars.
Last month, another decree localising employment for postal services and parcel transport across the country went into effect.
