Retirement of 6,350 to offer job opportunities for Saudi graduates

As many as 6,350 civil servants will retire this year, creating more job opportunities for young Saudis, said Abdul Aziz Al-Khunain, spokesman of the Civil Service Ministry.
He said the employees would retire by May 10, if they have reached the age of 60 by then.
The retirees include 913 in school teachers, 495 university teachers and 268 health officials.
The retirement of the civil servants will provide new job opportunities for Saudi graduates, both men and women, he said.
Saudi Arabia has stepped up efforts to fight unemployment by intensifying the nationalization of jobs and launching of a campaign against violators of the country’s labor and residency rules.
There are about 1.3 million unemployed Saudi men and women registered with the Hafiz program to receive unemployment benefits.
Labor Minister Adel Fakeih has stressed the need for creating more jobs for the increasing number of Saudi graduates, especially in the private sector where the percentage of Saudi workers remains between 2 and 10. About 6.9 million expatriates work in the private sector.
Speaking about government’s long-term plans to fight unemployment, the minister said it includes a review of the country’s educational and training system to meet labor market needs.
“Support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in coordination with related ministries is another strategy,” he said, adding that his ministry’s initiatives requires the support of other ministries and departments to cope with unemployment issue.