THE department for technical training for women in Riyadh held a graduation ceremony last Thursday for those who have completed three-month courses in electricity maintenance and plumbing works. The department's spokesperson said the program was aimed at developing various skills in women, creating new job opportunities for them and Saudizing electricity and plumbing jobs. I wish every success for these women. I don't want to underestimate the value of any job and at the same time I would like discuss other dimensions of the issue in order for authorities to take appropriate decision and change the direction of the Saudization drive. When we adopt a solution that goes against the Kingdom's development vision, we should know that we are in a declining mode. There is nothing wrong in finding suitable jobs for men and women but we have to think of long-term solutions that cope with our development vision and plans. At present we are thinking of temporary solutions without bothering about its negative consequences. We should know that this move contradicts with Vision 2030's expectations. According to available statistics, more than 811,000 women currently work in the Kingdom, of which 280,000 are in the education sector and 50,000 in health while the remaining are distributed in various sectors. The Vision 2030 wants to increase women's participation to 30 percent by 2030. By that time the number of women workers in the Kingdom will increase to 3.2 million. This means the labor market will employ an additional 2.4 million during the next 15 years at the rate of 162,000 women per year. This number (162,000) represents total number of employees at Saudi Aramco, SABIC, Saudi Electricity, Ma'aden and Saudi Telecom, including foreigners. Yes, creating 162,000 jobs for women not for a single year but for 15 years consecutively. Of course, this is not an easy job and needs lots of planning and homework. It may look impossible given the limited job opportunities available for women due to customs and traditions. We should take into consideration that the move to reduce unemployment among men has lessened employment opportunities for women in office jobs. Our main problem is lack of big companies that can offer a large number of jobs. We need big companies such as car manufacturing factories as well as factories of equipment and devices to create thousands of new jobs. Undoubtedly, the factories will employ men. At the same time, their administrative, financial and other soft jobs can be taken by women. Big technological firms should be established to accommodate a large number of women. What is important at this point is that women should be given more employment opportunities, following Islamic values and Saudi traditions. The construction of new factories will create more job opportunities for men and this will enable women to take office jobs currently occupied by men. We know that many men currently take jobs in telecom companies and banks that are suitable for women. Things are becoming more complicated day by day and we have to find long-term solutions to fight unemployment. We should also eradicate fake Saudization and should not go for employing Saudis in menial jobs where they receive low salaries. The solutions we have presented so far to tackle unemployment are poor. We still believe that replacing expats with Saudis would end the problem and we have reached the stage of training Saudi women to take up jobs of plumbers and electricians. What will they do after this stage? We should not consider national human resources as a burden on the economy and development. On the other hand, we should do everything possible to train and prepare the national cadre to participate actively in the development process and strengthen the economy. We should know that advanced countries reached their present stage after investing in brains and thoughts.
