To encourage women to join the catering industry, the Social Charity Fund has recently signed contracts to train 100 Saudi women in the culinary arts coupled with managerial and reception skills. During the training period which would last from 6 to 12 months, the women will receive a monthly stipend of SR1000 from the Social Charity Fund. The agreements signed with the participating trainees also guarantee employment after training, with monthly salaries ranging between SR3000 and SR6000. At the signing ceremony in Mersal Recreational Village in Jeddah, Adel Farhat, CEO of the charity, told the press that the fund will sponsor the education and training program of 100 Saudi women and 250 men which would qualify them to work as chefs, caterers, events coordinators, or as receptionists at various hotels and function halls in the coastal city. The students will be offered employment opportunities in this field immediately after they graduate from the program. According to Farhat, this is an unprecedented step that will certify Saudi women for the first time to work in the hotel and tourism sector. The Social Charity Fund has coordinated with the Saudi branch of the International Academy for Tourism and Hospitality to degree the qualified women with accredited certificates to help in their new careers. All of the 100 Saudi women who had enrolled for the training program have been promised rewarding careers and stable employment by a well-known local organizer of lavish ceremonies and occasions: Laylaty Ballroom. A spokesperson from the management of Laylaty Ballroom expressed her optimism in Saudi women to assume the responsibilities needed to manage, organize, and supervise events and cater to clients' needs. Saudi families will find it much easier and more comfortable to communicate with and plan memorable family events with other Saudi women who understand the culture and traditions better than the currently employed expatriate Arab and Asian women. This same message is being reiterated by the management of a large number of ballrooms and function halls throughout the Kingdom. As for men trainees, opportunities are ripe and abundant for nationals in the Makkah region in the tourism sector. The catering, hotel, and tourism sectors are all in dire need of qualified Saudis as these sectors have opened up 25000 jobs that need to be filled. __
