Al-Jazirah Carpentry is the basis of nearly all manual trades. A carpenter should understand designs and appreciate the consumer's taste and he should work with his hands to make a masterpiece from wood. As a trade, carpentry is usually passed down from father to son. In some countries, carpentry is regarded as an important trade; no matter how educated a person, he will learn the trade if his father is a carpenter. Yet, carpenter shops in Riyadh pose security, social, economic, environmental and health dangers. Expatriate workers from different nations work in small shops that are located on narrow streets and do not meet the Kingdom's health requirements. When you ask a carpenter to make you a special design that is not available in the market, he will jack up prices and quote you a long period to finish the work. Wood warehouses are scattered on Al-Madinah Munawarrah Road, along with imported wood warehouses. This could cause an environmental disaster if the wood catches fire. Many consumers prefer to go to furniture shops and buy furniture such as bedroom sets, tables and chairs. These shops import wood and handmade crafts from countries like China, Turkey and Egypt. If consumers prefer these shops to carpenters, then what is the point of issuing licenses to new carpenter shops, because we already have more than enough. Issuing more licenses will give others a chance to recruit unqualified carpenters from abroad just to bring them here. Saudis do not like to work as carpenters, because the work can be dangerous and can cause various chest and lung diseases because of the sawdust and chemicals. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, as well as the municipality, should shut down carpenter shops that pose a significant security threat to society and do not add any benefit to the economy and to the nation's development. Furthermore, most of these businesses operate under tasattur practices (the illegal practice where Saudis permit foreigners to manage businesses in their names in return for a stake of the profits), and many of the workers are low-skilled without any training.
