RIYADH: More than 170,000 new jobs are set to be created in Saudi Arabia thanks to the launch of the second edition of a government scheme to boost employment in the Kingdom.
The Toutin program, organized by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, will create 25,000 jobs in the industry sector, along with providing 20,000 job opportunities in health, transport and logistics services, and real estate and construction sectors.
This second edition of the initiative will create 30,000 jobs in the tourism sector alone, as Saudi Arabia works hard to make the Kingdom a global tourist destination by 2030.
According to Saudi Arabia’s National Tourism Strategy, the kingdom plans to attract 100 million visitors annually by 2030 as well as create one million jobs in the sector.
This edition of the Tawatin program also focuses on creating 15,000 jobs in the trade sector and 40,000 jobs in various other sectors.
The Tauteen program is an initiative of the Saudi Industrial Development Fund to support and promote the creation of job opportunities for Saudis as well as towards increasing local material spending.
Saudization, known as the Saudi Nationalization Plan or Nitaqat, is considered an important step towards economic success, as the kingdom continues to diversify its economy which has been dependent on oil for many decades.
According to a recently launched report by the National Labor Observatory, Saudi Arabia was ranked first in labor force growth rate among the Group of 20 countries during the period 2012-2021.
Even though Saudization has been going on since 1985, the process was accelerated after the launch of Vision 2030 in 2016 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
As Saudization progresses in the Kingdom, the job market in the country is also developing rapidly, as a report by the Central Department of Statistics and Information suggested that the unemployment rate in the Kingdom could exceed 6 percent in the second quarter of 2022. has come down to 5.80 percent. In the first quarter of 2022.
Earlier in September, speaking at the Local Content Forum, Saudi Transport Minister Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jassar said the Kingdom is working to localize 18 businesses over the next year.
He also said that the transport sector in Saudi Arabia is working to increase the proportion of Saudi citizens in all its services.
“The transport system is working to increase the proportion of localization in all its services. We are close to the percentage of full localization for the profession of co-pilot, and full localization of pilots will be achieved soon,” Al- Jassar said.