Saudis want top jobs reserved for them

Several young Saudis have urged the new Minister of Labor and Social Development to Saudize higher job positions, Al-Madina reported.

The new Minister of Labor and Social Development Ahmad Al-Rajhi received requests from Saudi youth seeking expansion of the Saudization program to cover top tier positions.

Amjad Abdulmoeen said he has a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy and believes that the Saudization program should include top managerial positions such as head of sector, executive manager and manager of human resources.

“Young Saudi employees often face harassment from expatriate managers."

Mohammad Al-Fifi said he has a bachelor’s degree in computer science and he had a hard time finding a job.

“Most of the jobs available to Saudis are as security guards or receptionists. The ministry left the administrative and executive jobs for expatriates. The ministry should inspect the people employed in high positions to ensure that they are qualified for the positions. Violators should be penalized,” said Al-Fifi.

Abdullah Al-Amri said he is a freelancer but the freelancing world has no stability.

“I urge the minister to focus on Saudizing managerial positions at corporate companies and leave the small grocery store shopkeepers and manual labor for now,” said Al-Fifi.

Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry Entrepreneurship Committee head Thamer Al-Fartoushi said the new minister has to balance between Saudizing more jobs and understanding the tough economic spell the private sector is going through at the moment.

“We must have foreigners at top managerial positions to train the Saudi youth and we should allow foreign husbands of Saudi women. About 98 percent of the private sector consists of small and medium enterprise who may not be able to have drastic company changes at this time. New policies should be implemented gradually to ensure the sustainability of these small companies,” said Al-Fartoushi.

Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry Textile and Readymade Clothes Committee head Waleed Al-Amri said people are optimistic as the new minister has always been a defender of small businesses and comes from a family that is known for its business endeavors.

Ali Al-Harbi, a jeweler, said he hopes that the new minister will implement the fixed closing time for the retail sector.