RIYADH: The Human Resources Development Fund announced on Sunday that it has redesigned its support programs under its three main pillars of guidance, training and empowerment.
The HRDF’s eight programs are now training support, work-based training, e-training, vocational guidance, functional alignment, income support, empowerment, and jobseekers assistance.
The revamp is part of the HRDF’s new strategy, which is based on three key objectives: supporting the development of human resources in line with the needs of the labor market, increasing the efficiency of matching supply and demand for jobs, and enabling groups facing challenges to enter, or remain in, the labor market.
In an earlier statement, the HRDF explained that the new strategy will strengthen and develop its relationship with the private sector as a “key pillar to promoting development and achieving sustainability through cooperation in various areas that serve the labor market and contribute to its growth and prosperity.”
The statement continued: “We have been eager to develop our strategy, programs, and services to maintain continuous communication with business sector members.”
According to data from the National Labor Observatory, the HRDF supported the employment of 277,000 Saudis in private sector facilities during the first nine months of 2022 at a cost of SR3.75 billion ($997.4 million).
HR expert Oqab Al-Thaqafi. (Supplied)
Oqab Al-Thaqafi, an HR expert, noted that localization is one of the primary goals of Saudi Vision 2030.
“We have a large number of young Saudis who want to be a part of the transformation led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,” Al-Thaqafi noted. “Human resources are both a critical asset and a critical challenge in Saudi Arabia. The market (for Saudi talent) is quite competitive, which has resulted in an increased turnover in several areas in which Saudis have already reached the required level.
“Many jobs demand competitive talents rather than a specialized degree. These skills can be discovered after we have adequate programs in place,” he said.
Fuad Fallatah, a former recruiting adviser at “national labor gateway” TAQAT, said, “Human resources officers and executive directors must sustain staff” to avoid job burnout.
“It is critical for businesses to organize workshops for their employees and provide incentives to measure the impact of workshops on the quality of staff performance,” he said, noting that one option for developing staff performance was to rotate them carefully so that each employee had appropriate knowledge and skills in more than one section.
Fallatah believes that current employees should not rely on specific skills but should “constantly develop skills and take advantage of colleagues’ experiences, in addition to developing skills of their own and this should be reflected in the enterprise’s growth.”
Fallatah encouraged job seekers to research the requirements of the labor market and consider how they can increase their professional value through learning and personal development.
