BAB Rizq Jameel (BRJ), an initiative of ALJ Community Initiatives (ALJCI), will launch new branches in the Kingdom in an endeavor to create more job opportunities for young males and females, Engineer Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, Chief Job Creator at BRJ, said. More than 500 young job creators are working in BRJ to create job opportunities for job seekers, he added. He disclosed the plan as Deloitte and Touche, Bakr AbulKhair & Co. verified and approved results of job opportunities created by BRJ for the year 2012, based on the mutual arrangements between auditor's firm and Abdul ALJCI to verify the results every three months. The auditor's report indicated that BRJ has created 58,440 job opportunities during the year 2012, an increase of 17 percent compared with 2011, in which BRJ created 49,957 job opportunities. Jobs were created with support from the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), Credit and Saving Bank and Ministry of Labor. Several programs participated in creating the job opportunities. Through the productive household program, 28,202 females around the Kingdom were supported to start their own micro projects, such as handmade products, perfumes mixing and local foods. Repayment ratio in this program reached 99 percent. During the same year, the direct employment program helped 23,984 young males and females to find jobs at the private sector. This program links between job seekers and the companies looking for qualified human power. In addition, 104 females were employed in the “work from home” program, through which they work from their home under the supervision of Nafisa Shams Academy for Arts and Crafts. The Academy also provided training for 783 female trainees who participated in several training courses. The training ending with employment created 360 job opportunities in fields needed by private companies. In addition, BRJ financed 4,757 small projects for young males and females through loans that could reach SR150,000, payable within 5 years. Through the taxi ownership program, 584 young males joined the workforce in the Kingdom to work as taxi drivers, while other 440 young males joined the truck ownership program to work in transporting goods, equipment and passengers. – SG
