New academy to train youths for tourism jobs

RIYADH: The Saudi Academy for Event, Conventions and Conferences will be launched in September this year to groom young talent for tourism sector jobs and the sector’s requirements.

This academy, which will be the first of its kind in the Middle East, will focus on the development of human resources in the Kingdom in order to become one of the key supporting sources for the convention and exhibition sector.
Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH) President Prince Sultan bin Salman, who also heads the supervising committee of the Saudi Exhibition and Convention Bureau (SECB), made this announcement after chairing the 10th meeting of the committee here at SCTNH headquarters, the media department said Thursday.
Prince Sultan said that the academy will be a Riyadh-based joint stock company. The National Center for Tourism Human Resources Development (Takamul) has contributed to its support and establishment.
Prince Sultan commended the people who undertook the establishment and operation of this academy, stressing the importance of capacity building of Saudi citizens in this sector, and allowing job seekers to become investors in small and medium services in this important economic sector.
On the potential of finding specialized cities for conventions and exhibitions, the SCTNH president said that efforts are underway in collaboration with the General Authority for Civil Aviation to find cities for conventions and exhibitions with access to major airports.
At the forefront of them are King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah and a city for conventions and exhibitions at Souk Okaz in the resort city of Taif.
The SCTNH chief expressed his hope that this sector will witness a quantum leap in the next few years, especially in light of the economic growth that the Kingdom is experiencing and the great attention toward the convention and exhibition industry by public and private authorities.
During the meeting, the first ever program of service applications on mobile devices was launched. The supervising committee meeting also approved the SECB plan for 2016-2018 and also approved a bill of policies and procedures for holding conferences in the Kingdom and posting them on the SECB website for feedback from the concerned sector.