Fatima Muhammad Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Saudis struggling to land jobs see hope in the new academic year which could generate jobs for them. New university graduates along with older graduates are hoping to find a job this year or find an alternative source of income in both the public and private sectors. This year, over 120 graduates from local universities and about 70,000 students studying abroad will face the dilemma of securing a job. Some have considered career changes, which fall outside their line of specialty in order to earn a living. Sultan Mahdi has been searching for a job for the past three years. He was recently hired to work as a car salesman and receives a commission for each sale he makes. “I have dumped my CV and moved into a job market which proved more beneficial to me than waiting for a job which may never come,” said Mahdi who declined to state the exact percentage he makes from each sale but said it was more competitive than the base salaries of most fresh graduates. 23-year-old history major, Ruba, has just begun job hunting. After graduating, she enrolled in a summer course to improve her English and is currently enrolling in a self-development skills course that she feels will help improve her communication skills. Ruba, wishes to continue her studies but wants some work experience first. While Ruba and Sultan did not attend job fairs, Ashwaq, an Arabic language major, thought that attending a job fair would be an effective way to find a job. But after participating in three job fairs, Ashwaq came to the conclusion that such fairs were no more than “a routine marketing opportunity for companies.” Ashwaq claimed that her major limits her to teaching, a profession she finds unprofitable in the private sector in which salaries for fresh graduates do not exceed SR2,000 - half of which would be spent on transportation. The Ministry of Labor recently announced that it will study the outcome of job fairs and ensure that the fairs provide jobs opportunities for youths of both genders.
