RIYADH — The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) announced the issuance of a series of decisions aimed to raise the Saudization rates in as many as 269 professions across various sectors. According to the decision, it is mandatory to implement 55 percent Saudization in pharmacy activities and 65 percent Saudization in pharmacy activities associated with hospitals effective from July 27, 2025. The Saudization drive will be implemented in partnership with a number of supervisory bodies such as the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing. The decisions included localizing the professions of dentistry, pharmacy, accounting, and engineering technical professions. These decisions come within the framework of efforts aimed at providing more stimulating and productive job opportunities for male and female citizens in various regions of the Kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The decision to raise the percentage of Saudization in the pharmacy professions will be implemented, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, effective from July 27, 2025. The Saudization rates have been raised to 35 percent in the activities of community pharmacies and medical complexes while the new localization rate in pharmacy activities in hospitals is 65 percent and other pharmacy activities is 55 percent. This decision will be applicable to establishments that employ five or more workers in pharmacy professions. The ministry decision also stipulates raising Saudization rates in dentistry professions in two phases. In the first phase, 45 percent of Saudization will be implemented effective from July 27, 2025 while 55 percent Saudization will be implemented in the second phase, 12 months after the issuance of the decision. The decision for localization of dentistry professions will be applicable to establishments that employ three or more workers in dentistry professions, in addition to raising the minimum wage for the dentistry profession, to be calculated for the Saudization percentages, to SR9,000. The MHRSD, in partnership with the Ministry of Commerce, has made the necessary procedures to increase the percentage of localization in accounting professions. The Saudization in this sector will be implemented in five phases spanning over a period of five years starting from October 27, 2025. The first phase of the Saudization decision will be applicable to establishments that employ five or more accountants in accounting professions with a rate of 40 percent, and that will gradually reach 70 percent. The ministry, in partnership with the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing, will implement the decision to raise the percentage of localization in engineering technical professions to 30 percent of the total number of workers in the targeted professions starting from July 27, 2025, and this decision will be applied to all private sector establishments that employ five or more workers in engineering technical professions. The MHRSD issued procedural guides explaining the details of the decisions on its website to inform employers and establishments about the mechanism for calculating localization and the penalties stipulated against violators. It is noteworthy that these decisions come as a continuation of the efforts of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development in its bid to raise the rates of localization of professions in order to achieve the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 and the Labor Market Strategy in supporting national competencies and increasing their job opportunities in various sectors.
