Fakeih: Saudis need to be employed in strategic jobs

Labor Minister Adel Fakeih wants the private sector to hire more Saudis in strategic and technical positions.
The minister said he wants to change the mindset of some company owners who employ Saudis in jobs that are of little strategic importance.
He made the call in a statement on Wednesday after attending a function of the Al-Salam Aviation Company that inducted the first group of 33 Saudi technical trainees for F-15 aircraft at its headquarters at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh.
Fakeih also said it was acceptable for new entrepreneurs to only meet the minimum level of Saudization until they become established.
He commended the efforts of some private companies that have hired more Saudis than required under the Nitaqat system. He expressed confidence in the potential of Saudi youth given the right opportunities.
“Saudization will succeed through not only pressure and legislation, but also the efforts of businessmen and industrialists who are convinced of the enormity of the challenge of national unemployment,” the minister said.
He said it was up to the country's youth to accept tough and challenging jobs. “We want to highlight success stories involving young Saudis and we hope that the media will play their role in this regard,” Fakeih said in his speech.
Another speaker, Ibrahim Al-Moaiqel, director of the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), praised Al-Salam Company for training Saudis for strategic jobs and called on other companies in the private sector to do so.
Al-Moaiqel said the HRDF has been trying to make the youth aware of their duties and rights so that they can benefit from the fund's training and placement programs.
“Everyone, particularly the private sector, should work hard to make the Saudization program a success,” he said.
Muhammad Al-Fullata, chairman of the company's board of directors, said the firm is in the Platinum Zone of the Nitaqat system after achieving 54 percent Saudization. Out of 2,812 workers in the company, 1,531 are Saudi. It has trained 426 Saudis in specific fields, such as aircraft engine maintenance. The firm has also trained 367 engineers, he said.