Cairo: Saudi Arabia has said it will partially localise engineering jobs, the latest in announced efforts to provide jobs for Saudi citizens.
The decision will take effect on July 21 to Saudise 25 per cent of engineering professions in private sector establishments that employ at least five workers each in these jobs.
The move aims to offer more than 8,000 jobs with a salary of at least SR7,000 to Saudis, Turki Al Dubaikhy, an advisor to the Localisation Agency at the Ministry of Municipal and Village Affairs and Housing said.
“The decision aims to enhance the presence of national manpower in qualitative, pivotal and vital jobs,” he told Al Arabiya FM radio. It also targets Saudising more than 150 job titles in engineering, he said.
“We have seen the private sector’s compliance with other localisation decrees and the targeted rates were surpassed. The decree to localise engineering professions will tread on the same path,” he added.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has launched a series of initiatives to employ its nationals and replace foreign workers in several fields including education, telecommunications and real estate as part of a labour policy known as “Saudisation”.
Last month, Saudi labour authorities said a decision to localise jobs of sales, purchases and project management went into effect. The Ministry of Human Resources said the sales professions are initially Saudised by 15 per cent covering jobs of sales manager, retail sales manager, sales specialist, wholesale manager, information technology and telecom equipment specialist, and sales agent.
In September, the kingdom unveiled a plan to localise the dental profession, initially setting it at 35 per cent as of next March.
The Ministry of Health said it will follow up the implementation of the decision geared towards increasing Saudis’ engagement in the labour market. Compliant private sector institutions stand to benefit from incentives and support programmes offered by the Ministry of Human Resources to help them employ Saudis.
These incentives include support to the process of looking for qualified employees, training and employment continuity as well as having access to Saudi employment support programmes.
In mid-2022, ministerial decrees were issued restricting jobs in certain sectors to Saudis only. They covered, optics jobs, customer services, licensed aviation professions including co-pilots and air controllers, sales outlets and periodic checks of cars.
In December 2022, another decree localising employment for postal services and parcel transport across the country went into effect. Saudi Arabia is also implementing a regional employment programme for its nationals.
