ALKHOBAR — Alturki and Education For Employment (EFE) celebrated the graduation of 35 youth as part of a program to boost youth employment in Saudi Arabia. A milestone in EFE's first foray into Saudi Arabia, the graduation ceremony marked the conclusion of a pilot program that rolled-out EFE's globally-renowned demand-driven model that tailors job training to match the skills needs of employers and places youth directly into jobs. The Alturki-EFE training program featured curriculum that EFE developed per Alturki's request, including tailored courses in Finance for Non-Finance Professionals and HR for Non-HR Professionals. These courses were offered in addition to EFE's hallmark Workplace Success soft skills curriculum developed with McGraw Hill. The program, which equips youth with critical professional skills in areas such as interpersonal relationships, communication, assertiveness, teamwork, leadership and professional ethics, was customized to the Saudi context. Twenty prospective Alturki employees and 15 recent Alturki hires completed the interactive classroom training, which was led by experienced master trainers from EFE's network across the Middle East and North Africa. Afterwards, participants completed two and a half weeks of on-the-job training to gain practical exposure to the private sector working environment and enhance their ability to produce immediate results. Graduates are being placed into entry-level positions within Alturki and Saudi companies. Commenting on the partnership, Rami Alturki, President & CEO of Alturki, stated, “Acquiring and retaining the most talented Saudis is the biggest challenge facing any business operating in the Kingdom today. Furthermore, getting Saudis qualified for today's workplace in order to obtain sustainable employment is one of the government's highest priorities. By offering Education For Employment's leading training programs and remarkable trainers to our Saudi youth, I believe we have fulfilled our mission as a responsible corporate citizen while benefiting our own business goals as well. Alturki is committed to expand this partnership with EFE in order to reach more Saudi youth to help them build exciting careers wherever they choose to work!” The Alturki-EFE partnership highlights the potential of the private sector in addressing the youth employment challenge, providing economic opportunity for youth and increasing regional stability and competitiveness. Taleb Salhab, Vice President of Programs & Affiliate Services, stated that, “Education For Employment is proud to have partnered with Alturki to offer our first-ever training programs in Saudi Arabia. Forward-thinking private sector leaders such as Alturki illustrate to companies across the region that they have a business interest and a social opportunity in focusing on youth employment. The Alturki-EFE training program for Saudi youth demonstrates that securing top talent to drive business growth and addressing the Arab youth unemployment challenge are complementary aims.” Alturki and EFE first partnered in 2013 to build the skills of over 130 Egyptian and Palestinian youth and placed them in full-time, career-building jobs. In 2014 they have expanded their partnership in Palestine and Egypt as well as strengthened EFE's operations across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). — SG
