Labor minister wants private sector to hire more Saudis

Riyadh, Oct 30: Labor and Social Development Minister Mufrej Al-Haqabani has called for the consolidated support of the private sector's participation in the Saudization program, in line with the Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020.

The minister made these comments while delivering the keynote address at the Eighth Social Dialogue Forum on "Professional management in the private sector and its positive impact in the nationalization of jobs", which was held at the the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue in Riyadh on Wednesday.

Among those present at the event were Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Development, Ahmed bin Saleh Al-Humaidan, the governor of the General Organization for Social Insurance, Suleiman bin Abdul Rahman Gwaiz, the secretary-general of the King Abdul Aziz National Dialogue, Faisal bin Abdul Rahman bin Muammar, the general director of the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), Abdulkarim Alnujaidi, and members of the private and public sectors including a range of workers.

Speaking to Arab News after the event, the minister said that the two-day event provided an ideal platform for employers, employees and related organizations in the government and private sector to get together to identify their needs of the government’s Saudization program.

The principle of dialogue is being championed throughout the program, and this will enable all of the relevant sectors to come together under one umbrella to achieve the government’s goals, Al-Haqabani said, stressing that the country’s youth are the real assets of the Kingdom's future.

Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Riyadh Al Mansour Al-Shathri said that the private sector has been doing its best to embrace the largest possible number of locals in the nationalization program. He explained that the majority of private enterprises are small and medium enterprises with limited financial and administrative capabilities that necessitate the implementation of innovative solutions to enable them to apply modern methods in human resources.

Nidal Radwan, chairman of the National Committee for Labor, said that the forum aims to spread the culture of dialogue and teamwork between all social partners, and to emphasize the importance of their participation in the reconfiguration of the labor market to the benefit of the parties involved in employing local manpower over foreign labor.

Nawaf Al-Diaiji, HRDF deputy director general, noted that his organizations’ online portal maintains the biodata of more than 1.5 million job seekers and holds some 40,000 job opportunities. He added that 71,000 employers have so far registered with the HRDF to find suitable employees.