Saudi universities preparing graduates for labor market

Saudi society lives with changes and developments of industry, education, media and health, in addition to many of the major economic projects.
These developments need a workforce that can meet the requirements of this major expansion. At the same time, local universities are working to increase their field and specializations to meet the requirements of labor market. Saudi universities work to improve their level of education and they aim to increase their ranking in the global classification for the universities. They also play a big role to increase the number of qualified Saudis to work in the private sector.
The unemployment rate among Saudi citizens is 9.1 percent for men and 26.3 percent for women. The percentage of Saudi citizens in the workforce reach 11.30 percent with 88.70 percent for non-Saudis, according to studies conducted by the Department of Statistics and Information.
Education authorities have ordered universities to accept all high school graduates. The King Saud University in Riyadh does not accept students that have scored less than 92 percent in their entrance examinations. At King Abdul Aziz University, students with less than 95 percent pass marks are also frequently turned away. Such students end up enrolling in external programs where they end up paying SR 6,000 a year, or registering in preparatory programs which cost up to SR 16,000. Taif University offers a preparatory program in art for SR 7,000 and a preparatory science program for SR 8,000.
The director of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) Khaled Al-Sultan said: “The university has scientific programs and specializations which made a lot of graduates more qualified to work in government and private sector in the Kingdom and the university attracts the best students at the secondary level in the Kingdom to compete for admission each year.”
“KFUPM attracts 45 percent of smart students in the Kingdom each year. The university is always committed to qualify typically its students, develop the scientific academic programs according to high standards and contribute to the quality of their output to support the national development,” Khaled Al-Sultan added.