Cairo: Saudi Arabia plans to provide 12,000 jobs for its citizens in the marketing sector, an official has said, as the country is seeking to generate more work opportunities for Saudis.
“We aim to localise 12,000 jobs in the marketing sector,” said spokesman for the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources Saad Al Hamad.
He added that around 5,000 Saudis have joined the sector in two months. “Only Saudi young people, capable of creativity, will be the ones to present Saudi identity and culture,” he told Saudi TV.
Saudisation of the sector will be mandatory, said Al Hamad, adding that non-compliant establishments will be penalised, the official said without providing a timeframe or spelling out penalties.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has launched a series of initiatives to employ its nationals and replace foreign workers in several fields including health, education, banking, entertainment, telecommunications and real estate.
For example, plans have been unveiled aiming to employ around 40,000 Saudis in the private health institutions and 15,600 others in telecom and information technology.
A decision to replace foreigners with Saudi citizens in jobs in three sectors came into effect last month as part of an employment policy in the kingdom dubbed “Saudisation”.
These sectors are customs clearance, driving schools and engineering technical jobs.
Foreigners make up about 10.5 million of Saudi Arabia’s total population of 34.8 million.
