FINANCIAL NEWS

Saudi Arabia plans to employ locals in construction

26 Feb 2012

(MENAFN) Saudi Arabia plans to create jobs for Saudi nationals in the construction sector as part of an initiative to increase the number of Saudis in employment, Arab News reported.

The ministry of labor said there are officially more than 500,000 jobless Saudis, and about 6 million foreigners working in the Kingdom.

Muhammad Ikhawan, adviser to the minister of labor said that Saudis are generally averse to taking up construction jobs on sites, adding that they would come forward for such jobs if they were provided with opportunities to build components or units of buildings at factories and then assemble them on sites.

He also said that there is a challenge related to the lack of skills among the Saudi population and the availability of cheap foreign labor.

Saudi Arabia last year launched an initiative to tackle its jobs problem by concentrating the number of Saudis employed in the private sector.

In November, the government launched its Nitaqat programme, aimed at curbing the number of foreign residents, instructing private firms to employ a proportion of national citizens over expatriates.

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