HRDF sets new record by finding jobs for 277,000 Saudis last year

RIYADH — Director General of the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) Turki Abdullah Aljawini has revealed that the fund made a new employment record by finding jobs for more than 277,000 Saudi nationals in the private sector last year.

He made the announcement at the launch of the General Authority for Military Industries’ manpower strategy for the military sector on Sunday.

"This is a historic and unprecedented number, and we hope, inshallah, the numbers in the coming years will be even higher." Aljawini said during a panel discussion titled The Role of Education in Empowering Manpower to Work in military industries.

He added, "We have set clear goals, including two goals that closely intersect with the authority’s strategy. The first goal is supporting human capital development in Saudi Arabia, in line with the needs of the labor market, and the second goal is related to enhancing the alignment between supply and demand."

Aljawini demonstrated that through the fund's new strategy and program redesign, three main programs were created to help develop professional skills that are needed by the market, whether in sectors in general or in the military industries in particular.

The first and foremost program is the Training Sponsorship Program, through which the fund supports training the novice. This program is provided through strategic partnerships with profit and non-profit institutions in Saudi Arabia.

For example, the military industries sector determines the needed skills and training programs, then the fund enters as a financial supporter for 6 to 36 months according to the training needs required by the sector.

"The military sector comes at the top of the priority list," he said, explaining that "the importance of a sector is determined by the number of jobs that the sector can create in coming years, and their quality and relevance."

"Today, we have partnerships with more than 40 institutions, and the support starts from 75% of the value. The cost of training reaches 95%, as small and medium companies will receive the amounts of support, where we contribute to paying part of the financial reward for the trainee during the training period," the HRDF official pointed out.

The second program is the On-the-Job Training (Tamheer), which targets recent diploma and bachelor graduates who are looking for job. The trainees receive training opportunities in the private sector without any additional costs to the training companies, as the fund takes the responsibility of paying remuneration to the trainees for at least six months.

The third program is the "E-training Program" in which the fund provides certified training courses free of cost or at nominal fees. The course is accessible to everyone, whether they are on the job or students.

“"We hope during this period the trainee will receive qualitative training that will help him obtain a job after the end of the training." Aljawini said.