A report published by the American Al-Monitor website played down the success of the plans of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, including his plan to Saudize jobs in the private sector inside KSA, as this is illogical and not in line with the policies of the private sector, which needs specialized employees with distinguished experience, to achieve real growth and appropriate profits for the continuation of projects, instead of Saudizing the sector just because it operates in KSA’s markets.
The report added that the process of Saudization needs many years, and continuous development of the educational process within the universities of KSA, otherwise the private sector companies will be paralyzed, and foreign investors will flee the market, as the youth won’t be qualified with the necessary experience to work in private-sector jobs.
The report attributed the decline in the practical and scientific levels of experience among the youth to the current educational level in Saudi universities, which is below the necessary level of information required in the private sector.
The report also indicated that the percentage of foreign workers in the Kingdom and the Gulf states represents a high percentage of the population that cannot be dispensed with.
The report pointed out that the public sector in Saudi Arabia was the main employer for Saudi citizens over the past decades, but as a result of the increasing population growth rates, the risks of recession, and the gradual decline in oil prices, which is the most important and greatest source of income in KSA, there has become a qualitative leap as the government is trying to direct the young people towards private work, however, it did not work on this strategy before, and it will not be easily achieved as MBS promises.
During the past years, MBS launched a number of projects from which none was implemented. The Saudi Crown Prince had promised to provide a quarter of a million job opportunities during 2021 to decrease the unemployment rates among the Saudi youth, which reached 12% according to official statistics, but none of this had happened, despite approaching the end of the year.
Talib Hashem, Managing Director of TBH, the investment advisory company based in Dubai, and working in the field of Emiratisation, the Emirati version of Saudization, said: “The public sector in most of the Gulf countries, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has reached the point of saturation, which can no longer accept new employees.
A study revealed that 72% of young people in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia consult their family and friends regarding the choice of their professional specialties due to their lack of practical experience, even in theory in their curricula.
