Riyadh: As the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) moves forward with its aspirations to diversify the economy and develop public service sectors in line with Vision 2030, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) continues to make valuable contributions to the country’s national sustainable goals by investing in the workforce of tomorrow. Driven by a firm commitment to equip Saudi talent with the skillsets and competencies to realize their potential and make a real impact in their chosen fields, this past March saw the global strategy consulting firm launch the fourth edition of its Jeel Tamooh program across critical topics such as climate and sustainability, AI and innovation.

The class of 2022 welcomed 103 of the most high-achieving students from the Kingdom’s top higher education institutions – including Prince Sultan University (PSU), King Saud University (KSU) and Alfaisal University– following challenging interactive online assessments and interviews with BCG’s Recruitment Team. Overall, the selected students performed outstandingly, showcasing tremendous passion and drive with promising long-term achievements as they continue fostering creativity, ambition, and maintain proper application in their chosen professional careers.

Asalah Fageeh joined Jeel Tamooh’s first edition in 2019, is now the co-founder and vice president in a geospatial data company specialized in data acquisition, visualization and analytics.

“The key is not to be intimidated by other talents. I loved the mentoring and the opportunity to have exposure into one of the leading management consultancies in the world. Learning about the consultant mindset and how to tackle problems, solving them and most importantly how to communicate was a big plus for me,” Asalah revealed. “At present, I want to keep learning and developing as a mother and as a professional woman working both in tech start-up and corporate.”

Since its inception in 2019, Jeel Tamooh’s popularity has rapidly grown due to its fully immersive qualities, offering keynote speeches, interactive workshops, including access to a digital learning platform, personal development assessments and virtual networking sessions with peers, BCG experts and other industry leaders. The program also guides emerging talent across a collaborative Career Fair between the Jeel Tamooh members and leading Saudi organizations to meet prospective employers.

Mohammed Salem AlFahr, now working for a prominent Saudi chemical manufacturing company, talks about the benefits of the program in terms of advancing key personal development skills – essential for thriving in the industry. He said, “When joining Jeel Tamooh, I was challenged throughout the program by my fellow peers and BCG experts who together, helped me strengthen my knowledge, capabilities, and self-awareness to reach my professional goals – crucial skills which I still nurture to this day.”

Jeel Tamooh also serves as a platform for talent to pursue a career within BCG, and several members have secured opportunities following their participation. As a member of the second edition alumni, Bandar Ewain was driven by the topics offered in the program offered such as climate and sustainability, AI, future governments, and has since become a junior associate at BCG.

“The training sessions offered to mentees were the most influential, and greatly supported me in preparing for the recruitment process,” explained Bandar. “The peer-to-peer connections I got to make with top graduates during the program across various academic backgrounds were a great guide for me when making any decision regarding my professional career. The Jeel Tamooh program provided the perfect opportunity to prepare and take part in interviews for a visiting junior associate position at BCG which to me was the ideal steppingstone into my professional career.”

The advice that comes via Jeel Tamooh is equally valued by Nouf AlSaleh, who was a member of the third edition and has since become a junior associate at BCG, after shortly serving as a visiting junior associate.

“Jeel Tamooh helped me peruse a career in consulting by understanding the basic toolkit a consultant requires, such as problem solving, practicality and effectiveness, communication, and more. Cracking cases was the most impactful part of Jeel Tamooh. Developing problem-solving skills in a short amount of time with the support of the team helped me understand the different perspectives of challenges,” she explained. “The program really prepares you to shift from a student life to a professional life career and of course with unique networking opportunities provided too!”

Since 2019, Jeel Tamooh has welcomed over 400 students from Saudi Arabia’s top universities, honoring its 1:1 female to male ratio policy throughout this time. Participants have diverse backgrounds across engineering, business, sciences, and more, with many also actively involved in student associations, extracurricular activities, leadership initiatives, and volunteering programs that foster socially responsible citizens committed to lifelong learning and personal development in service of others.

“It is a great source of inspiration for BCG to be confronted by the next generation of leaders throughout the Jeel Tamooh program. Under the theme "Building Skills for the Future", the fourth edition of Jeel Tamooh delves into pressing topics with a focus on Digital & AI, Climate & Sustainability, Innovation, and as in the previous edition, the program also focuses on the students’ personal development such as motivational skills, identifying strengths, and more,” said Philippe Cornette de Saint Cyr, Head of BCG Riyadh. “The program is strongly aligned with the Kingdom’s national strategy goals and ongoing Saudization campaign, and we look forward to seeing fourth edition alumni begin their inspiring career journeys.”

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