Jeddah, Mar 27: Some 600,000 Saudis, who graduate every year and enter the job market, pose a big challenge to the government to provide them with employment, a senior Labor Ministry official said.
Abdul Monem Al-Shahri, director of the Labor Office in Makkah, said over 330,000 Saudi students graduate from schools every year. According to another report, nearly 318,000 graduate from Saudi universities.
Ibrahim Badawood, managing director of ALJ Community Initiatives, emphasized the need to provide job-oriented education to solve the problem.
Speaking to Arab News, he said students must be encouraged to work while studying. “This will help develop a job culture among them and meet market requirements. Companies can hire them and provide on-the-job training.”
People from the three regions account for 77 percent of the total workforce in the public and private sectors, with Riyadh holding 35 percent, followed by the Eastern Province 21 percent and Makkah 19 percent.
The ministry’s wage protection scheme was instrumental in increasing the wage of Saudis, the official said.
“After introducing the scheme, the number of Saudis receiving SR3,000 and more in monthly salary increased from 109,000 to 1.3 million,” he pointed out.
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