RIYADH – Saudi Arabia's ranking in the technical and vocational training sector in the Global Knowledge Index jumped to 86th in the world against 117th rank last year, an increase of 36 positions. The Kingdom's rank among the Arab countries shot up to 5. The overall ranking of Saudi Arabia also jumped from 66th place in 2018 to 52nd position in 2019, with most sub-indices of the Knowledge Index rising in 2019. The Global Knowledge Index is the product of a joint initiative between the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation, announced at the Knowledge Summit 2016, emphasizing the strategic role of knowledge and the importance of providing systematic tools to measure and manage it. The index measures the knowledge situation of 136 countries in the world, based on analysis and data from 150 million digital sources, in 23 languages. The Global Knowledge Index is based on seven areas including, pre-university education, technical and vocational education and training, higher education, research and development and innovation, information and communications technology, economy and general enabling environment. The Global Knowledge Index serves as a roadmap for the sustainable development of societies. It helps countries in the region and globally to formulate a forward-thinking strategy to support knowledge and promote it as a main component in building a stronger knowledge economy while ensuring sustainable development. It is to be noted that the General Organization for Technical and Vocational Training has launched several initiatives and specific programs to ensure the quality of training and development of outputs to suit the requirements of the labor market. It also works to strengthen its strategic partnerships with the private sector through 30 strategic partnership institutes, most notably Saudi Aramco, SABIC, Maaden and Saudi Electricity Company in order to expand the establishment of training facilities and the addition of new professional and technical specialties in the areas of tourism and renewable energy.
