RIYADH — The Human Resources Development Fund (HADAF) has contributed to the employment of 772,283 Saudi men and women in the private sector since 2011 through 11 employment programs, its director Ibrahim Bin Fahd Al-Muaiqil has said. "The employment of this large number of Saudi men and women was made possible by the sincere cooperation by both the private sector and the job seekers themselves," he said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). He also gave credit to the policies, products and programs of the Labor Ministry in facilitating the employment of Saudi citizens in the private sector. Muaiqil said 251,022 Saudis, of whom 64 percent were men and 36 percent women, were employed in 2015 alone, which is an increase of 25 percent over the previous year. He said the fund, which has 120 branches scattered all over the Kingdom, has expanded its electronic services for the welfare of the Saudi citizens. The director said the fund's program of "training which is linked to employment" has this year contributed to the employment of 144,956 Saudis, constituting about 58 percent of the total number of the citizens employed during the past five years. He said the second program known as "Taqat" (energy), which has eight windows, has employed 47,737 job seekers with a ratio of 19 percent. He also said the program of "men and women teachers" has employed 23,442 male and female school teachers who accounted for 9 percent of the total number of the employed citizens. Muaiqil said the "extra wages support" program has contributed to the employment of 9,693 Saudis. According to him, a total of 9,297 women were assured jobs in the Labor Ministry's program to feminize work in the lingerie and female accessories shops.
