AFTER the deportation of a large number of expatriates or the correction of their status, the Labor Ministry informed us that most positions left vacant by these workers were not suitable for Saudis because they were menial jobs paying low wages. The remaining few jobs that could be filled by the Saudis stirred up tensions between employers and employees as the old perception that citizens cannot work full time or are always absent from work returned into the public consciousness. We do not know the exact ratio of serious Saudi workers and careless ones. This brings us back to our first point, which is the necessity of seeking the help of expatriates so that there is no shortage of labor that may adversely affect the level of production in all fields. The statistics about the number of unemployed Saudis are conflicting. According to these figures, there are about a million jobless Saudis of whom about 80 percent are women. The number of unemployed Saudis with university degrees is also high. Before we get entangled into the confusion of figures and the issue of money transfers outside that deplete our national economy, we shall ask this question: Where are the graduates of our technical institutes, especially as there are thousands of jobs left vacant by expatriates in car workshops, electricians, carpentry, maintenance and others? This happens at a time when such graduates complain that they have no work opportunities as the expatriates have occupied all these jobs. Technical education institutes have statistics, booklets and pamphlets that they send to people, particularly the public relations sections in every government department, to convince them that this type of education is flawless. The graduates of technical institutes have failed to assume these jobs not because they are lazy or careless but because they are not qualified enough to take the initiative of establishing their own private businesses or fill the jobs left vacant by the expatriates. The holders of other qualifications, especially in humanities, are looking for government jobs that will ensure them with job security, do not require outstanding performance and enable them to be absent any time they wish. There are qualifications required by the labor market, specifically in computer science, medicine, engineering, accountancy and others. Both the public and private sectors are competing for the holders of such qualifications. We go back to the problem of education at all levels including higher education, which did not give enough attention to market requirements. This has increased the problem of unemployment. The fallout from the deportation of expatriates has started to manifest. The citizens lack a work ethic and are not willing to be committed to their jobs. This problem should be thoroughly studied before it snowballs.
