A total of 100 Saudi women have signed training contracts for employment in hospitality and tourism sector. They would work as cooks, waitresses and cashiers for salaries ranging between SR3,000 to SR6,000 in addition to commissions, local Arabic daily Al-Watan reported Tuesday.
During the training period, which will extend from six months to a year, each woman will receive a monthly salary of SR1,000 from the Social Charity Fund.
Director of the fund Adil Farahat said the women and also 250 men signed the contracts Monday at Mursal entertainment village in Jeddah. “The contracts make it imperative to employ these young people on completion of training,” he explained.
According to Farahat, the agreement was the first of its kind in the Kingdom. “This was also the first time women were given a license to work in the tourism sector,” said. He explained that the licenses were accorded by the International Saudi Academy. He said the women would join Lailaty Ballroom to run events for women, substituting foreign employees.
Farahat said the door is wide open for Saudi youth to apply for jobs in tourism, adding that Makkah alone needs 25,000 employees at hotels.
100 Saudi women sign training contracts for jobs in hospitality sector
