The Kingdom spends 57 percent on developing its human resources but receives very little return in terms of productivity, according to a study presented at the Riyadh Economic Forum. The study said the contribution of national human resources to the economic growth is about seven percent compared to 20 percent in emerging and developed economies. The country has an inefficient education and training system, the study found. Despite allocating about seven percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product, which is equivalent to 25 percent of the government's general budget to the development of human resources – a very high percentage according to international standards – the return was not satisfactory. The Kingdom could join the world's knowledge economies if it had properly trained people. The study showed that the core of the problem was that the government has devoted most of its allocations to higher education at the cost of high and medium technical training. Only eight percent of the total number of students who register at higher education institutions take up higher technical and vocational training. This figure drops to one percent in the case of medium technical training. Al-Waleed Al-Deran, Chairman of the Private Training Centers at Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said private sector training is important but fluctuates between good and substandard. He said there are 1,000 private training institutes in the Kingdom, but each institute has its own method and training philosophy. Salh Jafara, Director General of Training and Recruitment at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the TVTC is responsible for the private training centers and institutes and it defines the standard of this sector. This shows there is a need for another independent and neutral body to evaluate this sector. __
