Career fair attracts Saudi talent

Under the auspices of Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal and in cooperation with Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industries (JCCI), Prolinks organized the 4th career fair for Saudi nationals under the slogan "Nationals."
The two-day fair, which opened on Saturday at the Hilton Hotel in Jeddah, aims to assist Saudi youth in finding job opportunities across different fields to fulfill the Nitaqat system requirements.
Mazen Batterjee, vice president of JCCI inaugurated the exhibition, which witnessed the participation of 65 private and public sector companies and many young Saudi graduates seeking jobs.
“We are honored to be organizing this exhibition, which means to achieve Saudization. Sixty-five companies have participated, providing ample opportunities for Saudi job seekers. We are also very pleased with the high turnout of well-qualified Saudi engineers, technicians and other professionals who have visited the exhibition,” he said.
Anoud Abou El Naja, CEO of Prolinks, said: “Our main aim in organizing this fair is to connect job seekers and companies. Saudi youth participating in the event can register with us and thus get access to our database, to keep abreast of job openings.”
“We are confident in the abilities of the Saudi youth. They are capable of delivering if the right opportunities, encouragement and good atmosphere are provided to them,” she added.
El Naja stressed that this was the 4th edition of the exhibition in the Kingdom and the second in Jeddah. Last year almost 8,444 job seekers found employment in different fields at the career fair and many more are expected to benefit this year, she asserted.
Nabil Hijazi, a mechanical engineering graduate, told Arab News that he had visited the booths of 20 companies but had not received any concrete results. “I attended the fair in search of a better job opportunity. However, most of the companies took my CV and vaguely replied that they will contact me soon. Companies should be more specific and explicit about the job openings they have, what they are looking for in a candidate and what their selection criteria is,” he said.
Another job seeker Ahmed Al-Amar said he was given job offers from two construction companies and is hopeful that he will hear back from other companies soon.