Saudi Arabia to nationalise five more sectors to create jobs for nationals

Riyadh: The Minister of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD) Eng. Ahmed Al-Rajhi said that six major sectors including legal consultancy, lawyer's offices, customs clearance, real estate activities, cinema, driving schools and technical and engineering professions will be nationalized to create 40,000 new jobs for Saudis.

Al-Rajhi noted that the ministry aims at nationalizing more than 203,000 jobs this year and that the initiative is amongst various other initiatives implemented to generate better employment opportunities for natives and to provide an attractive working environment.

The move is expected to empower Saudi men and women to work in the private sector and increase their participation in the labour market. The Minister added that the HRSD ministry had earlier this year, issued several decisions to nationalize private sectors including malls, restaurants and educational professions, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Meanwhile, the HRSD ministry has begun a "professional verification" program to verify the necessary skills of foreign workers through vocational testing from July 1. The first phase of the verification initiative is being implemented on companies with 3,000 or more employees. The program focuses on enhancing the skills of the workforce in the Saudi labour market to meet international standards.