More companies in Saudi Arabia are heeding the call for the employment of Saudis as evidenced by jobs fairs aimed at recruiting qualified Saudis. Schneider Electric, for one, a global specialist in energy management, reaffirmed its commitment to Saudization through its recent participation as a major exhibitor at the Liqa'at Employment Event. Liqa'at was held in association with the Ministry of Labor and Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF). "As the national recruitment initiative of the Ministry of Labor and the Human Resources Development Fund to support Saudi nationals at different career levels, Liqa'at works in unison with leading multinationals such as Schneider Electric as well as home-grown companies to address the challenges that job seekers face. Such efforts aim to connect organizations and talented individuals and help highlight their values and skills," Mohammed Mosly, Manager of the Liqa'at Program, said. In the same vein, Schneider Electric's Apprentice program is an internal initiative that aims to integrate Saudi fresh graduates into the organization's fabric to assist them in starting their careers with the best fitting jobs and consequently spotlight the country's constantly growing talent pool. Christophe Campagne, Country President of Schneider Electric in Saudi Arabia, said: "The dynamics of the Saudi workforce offer an interesting and exciting opportunity. The majority of Saudi population is under the age of 25 and comes from distinguished educational backgrounds with valuable skill-sets. This will allow us to nurture and engage the brightest talent to achieve our business objectives. Through our Apprentice Program, we aim to pave the way for new hires to eventually occupy key positions." "Another important part of our mandate is to offer opportunities to women candidates. We have already registered progress in this direction with the hire of a number of Saudi women in various roles across the organization. We are looking to integrate more Saudi national females into our cadres and Liqa'at was a great opportunity to get connected to a number of talented candidates within a short time." Schneider Electric's 'Ladies' Section', operational since 2010, provides on-the-job and personal skills development training within a culture that encourages learning and development and where knowledge is acquired and shared. During its participation at Liqa'at, Schneider Electric representatives met with scores of new graduates and skilled individuals to identify and discuss the aspirations and challenges they face within the job market in Saudi Arabia. "Our next event is slated for Jeddah. We are expecting an even larger turnout of the Saudi workforce and certainly looking forward to Schneider Electric's participation," Mosly added.
