Unemployment is a major social and economic problem that can have negative repercussions on society. To tackle unemployment, drastic solutions and innovative approaches are needed.
Although the Ministry of Labor in the Kingdom has mobilized enormous resources and exerted strenuous efforts to reduce unemployment among Saudis, it has largely failed as unemployment rates continue to rise, especially among young men and women who account for 60 percent of the population, Alsharq reports.
Princess Basmah Bint Saud Bin Abdulaziz, a businesswoman and writer, called for mobilizing local resources and uniting the efforts of public and private sectors to overcome this menace. Economic experts, businessmen and businesswomen should be supported and given a chance to participate in solving the unemployment problem, she said.
National committees should be formed in conjunction with the Ministry of Labor to create job opportunities for young men and women, Princess Basmah said.
“Businessmen can come up with solutions through developing plans that regulate the market and qualify young Saudis all over the country to join the workforce. I've proposed this idea before and I'll now work on putting it into action,” Princess Basmah added.
Fresh approach
Abdulrahman Hayjan, member of the Shoura Council, said a fresh approach is needed to tackle the unemployment problem because existing models are based on impoverished nations that have budget constraints, something that does not apply to the Kingdom.
“The type and nature of the problem is different to problems that exist in the markets of other countries. Our labor market needs to be regulated in a way that ends this problem permanently. The number of expatriate workers in our country makes one wonder whether we have an unemployment problem like other countries or the problem lies in the fact that we have plenty of jobs but our youth think they aren't appropriate for them in terms of the nature of work and salary,” Hayjan said.
Mega companies
Economic analyst Idrees Abu Hashim suggested building more technical institutes in the country and encouraging male and female students who have not attended college or university to join.
“Technical skills are important and should be taught to middle as well as high school students. It's regrettable that there is no coordination whatsoever between private and public sectors and universities all over the Kingdom to identify the market needs,” he noted.
Abu Hashim further said the Kingdom should develop a workforce that is able to compete with their expatriate counterparts in labor-intensive jobs such as manufacturing, construction and maintenance.
“The Ministry of Labor should force large companies and factories to offer paid internships or apprenticeship opportunities to students and train them on the skills they need to succeed in the labor market. Only by doing so, will companies help students prepare for the labor market in the future and overcome any obstacles they may face,” he said.
Miqbel Al-Sulami, economic expert, said the problem of the Saudi market is twofold. First, most Saudis rely on the government sector to create job opportunities for them while the private sector does not play any role in job creation.
“The problem is obvious and the results can be catastrophic in the future if the private sector doesn't start offering more opportunities to Saudis,” he explained.
Second, the retail sector, the largest in terms of employment, has not been tapped or utilized. This sector, Al-Sulami alleged, has the potential to create thousands of job opportunities for young Saudi men and women but it continues to be dominated by expatriate workers who can work long hours for relatively low salaries.
